Subordinate Legislation Committee, 13 Dec 2005
Meeting date: Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Official Report
160KB pdf
Draft Instruments Subject to Approval
Draft Instruments Subject <br />to Approval
Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Skin Piercing and Tattooing) Order 2006 (draft)
We move on to agenda item 4 and our first draft instrument subject to approval. Both Ken Macintosh and I have an interest in the draft order.
Do explain. [Laughter.]
We have an interest in bringing the issue to the Parliament.
The draft order makes provision for the licensing of persons who carry out body piercing and tattooing. It applies part I of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 with the modifications that are set out in the draft order. No points have been identified. Do members have any points to make?
Members indicated disagreement.
A tattoo with no points.
That was a Freudian slip.
Members will wish to note that the draft order replaces a draft order that was laid on 7 December. The earlier draft was the subject of a discussion between our legal advisers and the Executive that resulted in the draft being withdrawn and revised. We welcome that.
Indeed.
Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2004 (Modification of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978) Order 2006 (draft)
No substantive points arise on the draft order. Again, however, members will note that it replaces a previous draft that was the subject of a discussion between our legal advisers and the Executive that resulted in the draft being withdrawn and relaid.
There are a number of errors in the drafting of the Executive note. Do members wish to draw that informally to the attention of the Executive?
Members indicated agreement.
In this case, there are errors in the note and we will ask the Executive to examine it. However, there is a wider issue about Executive notes. In our inquiry, we are considering the format and design of Executive notes and the amount of information that is supplied in them, but my specific point is about the Executive note that accompanied the draft Scotland Act 1998 (Modifications of Schedule 5) Order 2006, which we dealt with last week.
For members' information, I was at the Equal Opportunities Committee this morning to question the Minister for Communities about the Executive note that accompanied the original draft order. The minister told me that that note had been withdrawn and that a different one had been issued with the new draft order. The Subordinate Legislation Committee was informed that the original draft order had been withdrawn and that a second draft order had been laid on the basis of a change in the date by which it had to be approved. No information was provided to the committee to indicate that the Executive note had been rewritten. That is a clear omission by the Executive. The original Executive note stated that certain powers could be devolved to the Scottish Parliament but the second version states that they would not be. In other words, the explanation in the second note is the opposite of that in the original note.
We considered the original draft order some weeks ago and the new draft order last week, but no mention was made of the fact that the Executive note had been completely changed. That led to some confusion at the Equal Opportunities Committee this morning. I wonder whether we should raise the issue with the Executive, either as part of our inquiry or in relation to this specific case. When the Executive makes such changes, it should inform us, rather than leave it to chance. I read the first Executive note in detail. However, I did not do so with the second note because the only change that was referred to was a change to the dates, although it turned out that there was a different Executive note, which contained the opposite explanation to that contained in the original note. I would like the committee to raise the issue of changes to Executive notes, using that specific example if possible. We should be informed about specific changes that are made; otherwise, we will be left in the position that I was in this morning, when it turned out that I was working with an out-of-date Executive note.
We do not have in front of us the draft order to which Stewart Maxwell refers—we dealt with it last week—but I suggest that we write to the Executive about the general issue of Executive notes using that example. We can also raise the matter as part of our inquiry.
Is that agreed?
Members indicated agreement.
Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc) Order 2006 (draft)
The draft order provides for certain functions of a minister of the Crown to be exercisable by the Scottish ministers instead of, or concurrently with, the minister of the Crown concerned. In particular, functions are transferred that will confer on Scottish ministers powers to legislate for non-medicinal animal feed in Scotland and amendments to the firefighters' pension scheme to make provision for civil partners.
No points arise on the draft order.