Subordinate Legislation Committee, 18 Feb 2003

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 18, 2003

Official Report 161KB pdf

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Delegated Powers Scrutiny

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Homelessness etc (Scotland) Bill: as amended at Stage 2

We raised a couple of issues with the Executive about the bill. We have had a satisfactory reply, certainly from one of its members, and a helpful memorandum.

Section 7 will insert new section 33A in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, which provides, in subsection (1), that ministers may by order—through a statutory instrument—suspend the power of local authorities as set out in section 33 of the 1987 act to refer a homelessness application to another local authority with which the applicant has a local connection. That will be a big change in how things work. The committee asked for an explanation of that order-making power and, as a result, two Executive amendments were introduced at stage 2. New subsection 33A(3) states that any order under new section 33 will be subject to the affirmative procedure.

As things stand, the orders will be subject to the affirmative procedure. However, the Executive has suggested that it might lodge further amendments at stage 3 and we might wonder whether it is intending to use the negative procedure. The Executive has done well to respond positively to the committee's concerns, but the option of using the negative procedure has been talked about before. Am I right in saying that that is the European model of working? I do not know whether we want to make a fuss about that. We do not know what the Executive will do at stage 3, but we could ask what it is thinking about doing.

I think that that would be worth while. I hope that I speak for the committee in saying that the Executive's deciding on whether the affirmative procedure or the negative procedure is used and its being able to switch between procedures are not necessarily practices that we advocate.

Or encourage.

Right.

Section 8 contains a regulation-making power, which the lead committee added by amendment, to exclude bed-and-breakfast accommodation. Our question is about the definition of bed-and-breakfast accommodation. As the committee has consistently noted, the power to amend a definition by way of subordinate legislation can have a profound effect on a statutory provision's operation. The power in section 8 does not appear to be particularly unreasonable. Do we agree that use of the negative procedure would be all right?

Members indicated agreement.

We are advised that it is not certain whether proposed new section 32(5A) of the 1987 act is drafted to have the intended effect. Some doubt remains. Should we mention to the Executive that we query the way in which the provision is drafted? Proposed new section 32(5A) defines bed-and-breakfast accommodation as

"accommodation of such description as may from time to time be prescribed".

If the ministers decided not to make the regulations, they could stymie the intention. Surely the lead committee did not mean that, so perhaps we should draw the matter to the Executive's attention.

If we have a query about interpretation, it is reasonable to put that in our report.