Subordinate Legislation Committee, 06 Dec 2005

Meeting date: Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Official Report 127KB pdf

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Instruments Subject to Annulment

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Town and Country Planning (Limit of Annual Value) (Scotland) Order 2005<br />(SSI 2005/594)<br />Fishery Products (Official Controls Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 2005<br />(SSI 2005/597)

No substantial points arise in relation to these instruments.

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Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/599)

No substantial points arise in relation to the regulations. However, we should note that they fulfil the undertaking that was given to us that the Executive would bring forth a consolidation of the 2000 regulations. We should applaud that.

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Feeding Stuffs (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/605)

The new European Community legislation for which provision is made in these regulations ought to have been implemented by 18 October 2004, in the case of EC regulation 1831/2003, and by 30 June 2005, in the case of directive 2004/116. There has, therefore, been a considerable delay. Do we agree to question the Executive on that point?

Members indicated agreement.

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Contaminants in Food (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/606)

No points arise in relation to the regulations.

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Meat (Official Controls Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/607)

Two points have been identified on which the committee might wish to ask for further explanation from the Executive. The regulations provide for the Food Standards Agency to charge for inspections according to the formula set out in the regulations. If the agency incurs increased costs as a result of inefficiency in the operation of a slaughterhouse, paragraph 8 of schedule 2 allows the agency to impose an additional charge.

Paragraph 9 makes provision for circumstances in which the operator of the slaughterhouse does not agree that the additional charge is justified, allowing for the operator to request for a determination by a person nominated for the purpose by the agency. That person must give both parties the opportunity to make representations and must decide within one month whether the charge is justified and notify both parties of the decision.

Paragraphs 9(3)(d) and 9(3)(e) provide that that decision is binding and must be given effect by the agency. That could be considered to be an attempt to exclude the jurisdiction of the courts. I wonder about that. I am just thinking out loud but, presumably, such a decision could be reviewed somehow. I would have thought that that sort of decision might be judicially reviewed.

In any case, I suppose that it is not for me to answer that question—one hat at a time is more than enough. Do we agree to ask the Executive whether the regulations take away the right to have a decision made on such a matter in another forum?

Members indicated agreement.

I have no idea whether that involves big sums of money.

I do not think so. The implication is that the provision would come into play in cases in which a slaughterhouse is inefficient. A slaughterhouse is charged on the basis of the number of animals slaughtered. An extra charge can be imposed on an inefficient slaughterhouse. The question is about the reasonableness of that extra charge.

I have no idea whether vast sums of money could be involved. We will ask whether such a decision will mean that people will have access to the courts. Far be it from me to try to stop such access.

The committee may also wish to ask why the Executive chose to use section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 as the enabling power rather than section 56 of the Finance Act 1973. Let us do that, even though I am sure that none of us understands the point terribly well.

We have raised it before.

That is true.

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Feed (Hygiene and Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/608)

Regulation 14 on page 8 of the instrument makes provision for the payment of fees for certain applications for approval under the regulations. There is a question about whether section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 is the relevant enabling power or whether section 56 of the Finance Act 1973 should have been used instead. That is the same point as before. Regulation 35 does not include unincorporated associations, which such provisions normally cover, so we should ask whether that omission was deliberate.

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Scottish Homes (Dissolution) Order 2005 (SSI 2005/609)<br />Regulation of Care (Social Services Workers) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2005 (SSI 2005/611)

There are no points of substance on the orders.