Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
Meeting date: Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Official Report
271KB pdf
Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Bill: After Stage 2
Agenda item 6 is consideration of correspondence that the Scottish Government has received in relation to the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Bill. Members have seen the briefing paper and the correspondence from the Scottish Government.
The proposed powers in section 10 and schedule 2 to the bill will allow the Scottish ministers to define and regulate new “environmental activities”. In its stage 1 report on the bill, the committee noted that it is proposed that regulations that are made under section 10 and schedule 2 will be subject to the negative procedure in all cases, except when they propose to textually amend an act.
The committee expressed some concerns about whether the procedures that are proposed in relation to the powers in section 10 and schedule 2 would provide for full and adequate scrutiny of the regulations in all cases. It recommended that the Scottish Government should fully consider in advance of stage 2 in which circumstances the exercise of powers would be more appropriately scrutinised by means of the affirmative procedure rather than the negative procedure.
Having considered the committee’s concerns, the Scottish Government has indicated that it does not consider it appropriate that any regulations that are made under section 10 should be subject to the affirmative procedure. However, in response to the committee’s concerns, the Government has proposed that ministers could provide periodic reports on the operation of part 2 of the bill as enacted, with emphasis being placed on the environmental provisions that it contains. The Government considers that such reports would give the Parliament and the Government the opportunity to scrutinise the operation of the bill as enacted and, in particular, the operation of the environmental powers, with a view to determining whether further procedural provisions were required.
If members have no comments, do we agree to welcome the Scottish Government’s proposal that ministers provide periodic reports on part 2 of the bill as enacted?
Members indicated agreement.
Does the committee agree to write to the Scottish Government to recommend that the production of such reports should be made a requirement that is set out on the face of the bill?
Members indicated agreement.
That completes agenda item 6 and brings us to the end of the public part of the meeting.
11:10
Meeting continued in private until 11:56.