Subordinate Legislation Committee, 08 Sep 2009

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Official Report 149KB pdf

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Instruments subject to Annulment

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Instruments subject <br />to Annulment

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Food Irradiation (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009/261)

Are we content with the explanation that the Scottish Government has provided for its not complying with the 21-day rule?

Members indicated agreement.

Are we content to report that regulations 5(2)(b) and 5(3)(a) and paragraphs 10 and 15(1)(b) of schedule 2 raise a devolution issue as they do not fully transpose the requirements of articles 8 and 9 of directive 1999/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the approximation of the laws of the member states concerning foods and food ingredients treated with ionising radiation?

Members indicated agreement.

The batch number that an irradiation facility outside Scotland applies to a particular food requires to be specified in the documentation that accompanies the food when it is imported into Scotland from a third country. Regulations 6(1)(b)(i) and (ii) are defectively drafted as they do not give effect to the intention that batch numbers that are applied to irradiated food by a facility within the UK, or outside Scotland on import, should be specified in documentation that accompanies the food, as a condition of persons being permitted to store or transport such food for the purpose of sale in Scotland. We might wish to note that the Scottish Government has undertaken to produce an amending instrument to correct those matters as soon as possible, for which we thank them.

Members indicated agreement.

Do we have a means of monitoring whether the Government produces an amending instrument within a reasonable time?

I think that our legal team will do exactly that. That point is taken.

There are two further points on the regulations. First, are we content to report that we are satisfied with the Scottish Government's explanation as to why it was not considered necessary to include any express transitional or savings provisions in relation to the Food (Control of Irradiation) Regulations 1990 (SI 1990/2490), which are revoked by these regulations?

Secondly, we might note that the regulations are an example of an amending consolidation, as they consolidate existing laws on food irradiation controls but with some further substantive amendments.

Members indicated agreement.

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Act of Sederunt (Commissary Business) (Amendment) 2009 (SSI 2009/292)

Are we content with the explanation for the breach of the 21-day rule?

Members indicated agreement.

Are we content with the act of sederunt?

Members indicated agreement.

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Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 Designation of Competent Persons Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009/301)<br />Scottish Court Service (Procedure for Appointment of Members) Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009/303)

The committee agreed that no points arose on the instruments.