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Registration Services (Fees, etc) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010 (SSI 2010/92)
Home Energy Assistance Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010 (SSI 2010/110)
Local Government (Allowances and Expenses) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Regulations 2010 (SSI 2010/111)
Item 3 is consideration of three Scottish statutory instruments, all of which are subject to the negative procedure. Members will have received a copy of the instruments. No concerns have been raised and no motions to annul have been lodged. Do members agree not to make any recommendations to Parliament in relation to the instruments?
I will resist the temptation to respond to that. Does the committee agree that it does not wish to make any recommendation on the instruments?
The fees payable for marriages and civil partnerships are subject to annual review. In one instance, the increase is from £28 to £30, and in another it is from £50 to £55—in the latter case that is an increase in one year of 10 per cent, which is well above the rate of inflation. It suggests that a new tax on marriages and civil partnerships is being introduced by the present Administration, which I would have thought was against the spirit of the times. However, if that is what it costs, I will say no more.
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