Subordinate Legislation Committee,

Meeting date: Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Official Report 171KB pdf

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Executive Responses

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Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (Scotland) Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/243)

Agenda item 4 is Executive responses. We asked the Executive why article 3(3) of the Food Safety Act 1990 (Consequential Modifications) (No 2) (Great Britain) Order 1990 (SI 1990/2487) had not been expressly revoked. The Executive has said that that was an oversight. I would have thought that we will report the instrument on that basis—the Executive has told us that it got it wrong.

Members indicated agreement.

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Fireworks (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2005 (SSI 2005/245)

We asked the Executive to explain why the requirement under section 2(4) of the Fireworks (Scotland) Act 2003 to issue a full regulatory impact assessment was not narrated anywhere in the instrument.

We should report the matter.

Once again, we will simply report the Executive's answer.

Members indicated agreement.

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Consultation Requirements (Citation of Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002)

Agenda item 5 is a further Executive response. Following its meeting of 26 April, the committee wrote to the Executive to inform it that it considered that a failure to include a reference to compliance with the consultation requirements of article 9 of regulation 178/2002 of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in the preamble to relevant Scottish statutory instruments amounts to defective drafting. We said that we would report in those terms in future.

The Executive has noted our continued concern and has undertaken to review its practice on this point. The Executive will conduct a wide review across the range of its functions over the coming weeks and will write to the committee with its conclusions. As part of that review, the Executive will consider the form of footnotes relative to the consultation requirements that are laid down by Community law. Does that mean we simply have to wait and see what the Executive does?

There is some movement in the response.

Yes, and we should welcome that.

Do we just thank the Executive and wait for more?

Yes.

We will welcome the Executive's positive—

And gradual measures.

We will await the outcome of the review with interest.

We should welcome the Executive's acceptance of our position.

Okay.