Subordinate Legislation Committee, 16 Jan 2001

Meeting date: Tuesday, January 16, 2001

Official Report 82KB pdf

---

Agricultural Business Development Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (SSI 2000/448)

We raised two matters relating to the regulations. One was to do with the absence of a right of appeal and the other was to do with powers of entry. We received a response, which we discussed during our legal briefing. Does anybody want to comment on the Executive's response with regard to the report that we will make to Parliament?

Is this the Feeding Stuffs (Scotland) Regulations 2000?

No, this is the Agricultural Business Development Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2000.

My apologies. I lost concentration.

I think that it would be appropriate to draw the attention of the lead committee and the Parliament to the issues that we have raised and the responses that we have received.

Judicial review is not meant to be a final right of appeal. In my view, judicial review has always been the option that would be taken in a situation in which there was no appeal. If we can get it right from the outset, it would be better to set a method by which people can appeal, rather than be left with the catch-all mechanism of having a judicial review. A judicial review might be easier than other methods of appeal within the court system, but it is nevertheless expensive and complicated. A method outwith the court system would be better.

The Executive cannot have it both ways: if something is sufficiently serious to merit having powers of entry into houses that are adjacent to the business property and so on, it should also merit there being a right of appeal. I suggest that we flag up our concern that the balance might be out of kilter and that some method of appeal should be considered.

That seems perfectly reasonable.

We can leave it to the lead committee—presumably the Rural Development Committee—to take on board our points.