Subordinate Legislation Committee, 16 Sep 2008

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Official Report 125KB pdf

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Instruments Subject to Annulment

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Instruments Subject <br />to Annulment

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Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2008 (SSI 2008/294)

The regulations are of interest to me as I am a member for a rural constituency. Are we content to ask the Scottish Government questions (a) and (b) as set out in our summary of recommendations?

Members indicated agreement.

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Action Programme for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (Scotland) Regulations 2008 <br />(SSI 2008/298)

I must point out that I did not know the meaning of one of the words in the legal brief, but it was made clear to me before the meeting.

Are we content to ask the Scottish Government the question as set out in the summary of recommendations?

Members indicated agreement.

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Potatoes Originating in Poland (Notification) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2008 (SSI 2008/299)

Are we content to ask the Scottish Government the question as set out in the summary of recommendations?

Members indicated agreement.

How many of you—like me—did not know what a ware potato is?

I know what a hot potato is, convener.

Well, we do not deal with those at this committee, Mr Deputy Convener.

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Plant Health (Scotland) Amendment Order 2008 (SSI 2008/300)

Are we content to ask the Scottish Government questions (a), (b), (c) and (d) as set out in the summary of recommendations?

Members indicated agreement.

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Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (Modification) (Scotland) Order 2008 <br />(SSI 2008/302)

I bet that everyone read the order with great interest; I did.

Are we content to ask the Scottish Government the question as set out in the summary of recommendations?

Members indicated agreement.

I have what I think is a fairly important point. I realise that, in the past, the habit has been for the meaning of "man" to embrace "woman". However, in the list of dangerous animals, the exception is made for man only. For the avoidance of any misunderstanding that woman might still be classified as a dangerous wild animal, could we ask the Government to change the word to "human being"?

That is a point that you might care to make to the minister. I understood that it was about kept men and all that.

We might reflect on that at our away day later on this afternoon. I was interested to note that one cannot keep an aardvark, but one can keep an aardwolf. However, I would not know either if I met it in the street.

We had better move on. All this hilarity will be too much for us and we will get overexcited before our away day.

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Smoke Control Areas (Authorised Fuels) (Scotland) (No 2) Regulations 2008 <br />(SSI 2008/295)<br />Smoke Control Areas (Exempt Fireplaces) (Scotland) (No 2) Order 2008 (SSI 2008/296)

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Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (Scottish Public Authorities) Amendment Order 2008 (SSI 2008/297)

The committee agreed that no points arose on the instruments.

For the record, I ask members to note from the annex to the summary of recommendations that minor points arise in relation to the draft Mental Health (England and Wales Cross-border transfer: patients subject to requirements other than detention) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 and in relation to SSI 2008/290, SSI 2008/294, SSI 2008/297 and SSI 2008/302. Those points will be raised with the Scottish Government informally.

I thank the public for their attendance at this long and gruelling meeting. We will next meet on Tuesday 23 September at 2.15. I remind members that we will see each other shortly at our away day, which starts at 15:00.

Meeting closed at 14:22.