Official Report 121KB pdf
Some doubt about the vires of the regulations in relation to the Scotland Act 1998 has been drawn our attention. Does anyone wish to expand on that doubt more fully?
Before very much time has elapsed, we should consider seriously exactly what the vires relationship is between European obligations, the Scotland Act 1998 and the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Executive is just that—it is an Executive, and must be seen to be doing things. It appears that the timing for dealing with subordinate legislation can be thrown out because of the delineation of powers in the Scotland Act 1998.
I will raise a different point from those that we discussed earlier. We are talking about whether the ministers are acting within the terms of the Scotland Act 1998 in conferring functions on ministers of the Crown or on UK Government departments. Nonetheless, various considerations have been raised.
The issue has less to do with timing and more with the relationship between the Scottish ministers and ministers of the Crown, and the way in which that relationship works, as laid down in the Scotland Act 1998. The question is whether it is proper for the Scottish ministers to act in the way proposed by the regulations. It is one of those things—it is a wee kink that needs to be examined. Perhaps we should raise the issue in a forum where we would be able discuss the principles rather than individual statutory instruments. We could also ask the Executive for an explanation of where it stands on the issue.