Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014 (Ancillary Provision) Order 2015 [Draft]
Agenda item 2 is an evidence-taking session on the draft Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014 (Ancillary Provision) Order 2015. I welcome to the committee Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, and her supporting officials. Good morning to you all. After we have taken evidence on the order, we will debate the motion in the name of the cabinet secretary under agenda item 3. Officials are, of course, not permitted to contribute to the formal debate.
I invite the cabinet secretary to make some opening remarks.
Good morning, convener. The order is part of a group of instruments that we have laid to complete the actions to implement the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014, which the committee considered last year. All the other instruments follow the negative procedure, but they are related to the affirmative order that is before the committee.
We have consulted extensively on the details of procedure that are dealt with in the instruments, and I will be publishing the Government response to that consultation very shortly. As there was widespread agreement with our views on the best way forward in general and on matters of detail, we have been able to follow a consensual route in preparing the order and the other instruments. Historic Environment Scotland will assume the existing functions of Historic Scotland and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland from 1 October, and it will take on its new, broader remit on the same date.
I can summarise the purpose of the order very quickly. It changes several pieces of primary legislation in which the Scottish ministers currently have a role so that Historic Environment Scotland is named, thereby enabling it to perform from 1 October the relevant functions, which involve its being consulted or playing other roles to support other bodies that are charged with decision-making functions. The order also sets out transitional arrangements for situations in which administrative processes have not been completed at the date of change, and those arrangements are intended to avoid any double handling or delay for those who are awaiting decisions.
The order also adds Historic Environment Scotland to enactments that list bodies that are required to adhere to statutory public procurement and regulatory standards. The specific enactments that the order changes to ensure HES’s role are: the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984; the Building (Scotland) Act 2003; the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003; the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006; and the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005.
Few of the enactments that are dealt with in the order generate substantial volumes of consultation or other work. The bulk of the regulatory and consultation work for Historic Environment Scotland will arise from the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 and the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 and from a range of planning and environmental impact assessment regulations. As the principal acts for those areas already cover the new dispositions, the revised procedures can be implemented by changes to regulations, which follow the negative procedure. I also note that the order adds Historic Environment Scotland to the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) 2014 to require it to operate according to the standards that are expected of public bodies in those areas.
The order helps to deliver the Government’s commitment to position Historic Environment Scotland as the national lead body in our collective efforts to understand, protect and value Scotland’s historic environment, and it contributes to setting the high standards that we expect HES to uphold. I would welcome the committee’s support for the provisions.
Thank you very much, cabinet secretary. Do members have any questions?
Good morning. I have no problems with the order, but what management changes are likely to take place when consolidating the present organisations as HES?
That is a big question, and the committee discussed it at length during its consideration of the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014. Considerable management changes have already been in effect for a significant amount of time; indeed, with regard to procedure, we are currently recruiting the new chief executive, and the new board has been established and has been meeting. The transition process and the management changes are being effected, as was discussed with the committee when it scrutinised the primary legislation.
I was not on the committee at the time.
I am sorry, Chic. We would be happy to forward you that information if it would help with the background.
I believe that the order is affected by two consultations, one that was undertaken in summer 2013 and another, on changes to regulatory arrangements, that took place in the winter of 2014-15. Can you assure us that those consultations directly covered the changes that are now being made?
Yes, indeed.
The large-scale changes set out in the HES Act 2014 were covered in the first consultation, which related to the framework.
For the second consultation, which dealt with the detail of the draft regulations, transitional provisions and so forth, we had a group of nine regulations as they were then drafted. We put those out to consultation as full draft regulations and received comments on them, and we have analysed those comments and taken them on board. Some minor changes were made to the drafting, but generally the response was very positively in favour of the arrangements as set out in general and in detail in the draft order. There were a few queries about minor technical matters, which we have addressed.
I should also say that the report on that will be published in the next week.
That is very helpful.
As there are no further questions, we move to agenda item 3, which is the formal debate on the instrument. I invite the cabinet secretary to move motion S4M-13406.
Motion moved,
That the Education and Culture Committee recommends that the Historic Environment Scotland Act 2014 (Ancillary Provision) Order 2015 [draft] be approved.—[Fiona Hyslop.]
Motion agreed to.
Thank you, cabinet secretary. I suspend the meeting briefly.
09:52 Meeting suspended.