Subordinate Legislation Committee, 13 Mar 2001

Meeting date: Tuesday, March 13, 2001

Official Report 89KB pdf

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Foot-and-Mouth Disease Declaratory (Controlled Area) (Scotland) Order 2001 (SSI 2001/49)

Many of the points that we will discuss on the order will relate to the discussion on instruments not laid before Parliament. There are questions as to whether the order should take the form of a statutory instrument. The advice that we have from our legal adviser, from south of the border and from Wales—although Wales does not have the relevant powers—is that the order does not need to take that form.

If the Executive has laid the order in the form of a statutory instrument to be helpful and involve the Parliament, we should welcome that. However, the legal adviser has briefed us that the order does not need to come before the committee. If that has been done to include the Rural Development Committee, the Executive should work out a method of keeping that committee abreast of matters instead of creating additional work for itself by making statutory instruments when it is doubtless extremely busy. Given the complexities of the foot-and-mouth situation, there is no need for the Executive to overburden itself by making a statutory instrument and bringing it to our attention. Although we can see what the Executive is trying to do, the work appears to be needless.

As I said, if it is a matter of keeping Parliament posted, perhaps some interaction between the Executive and the Rural Development Committee would be in everybody's best interests. We do not seek to empire build and see no need for the matters to come to our attention. An analogy has been made with road and traffic orders, which we do not scrutinise.

I agree. Resources are extremely stretched. My experience is that efforts must be made to produce guidance on what orders might mean and on the forms that flow from them, rather than producing statutory instruments. It would be better if resources were invested more in front-line activities rather than in just crossing the t's and dotting the i's.

We can say, "Thanks, but no thanks." We see no need to discuss the order. However, it could be drawn to the Rural Development Committee's attention, and perhaps that committee and the Executive could work out a method of keeping abreast of matters. That committee may wish to be aware of the documents that are being laid and the orders that are being promulgated.

Surely that committee can find out about regulation on such an urgent issue. I do not know why we must create more work. However, we will continue to hear about the discontinuance of legalised police cells in Portree.

Certainly.

I would hate to think that we would pass that issue up.

You would be safe to go to Portree now, Margo.