Official Report 349KB pdf
We have the legal brief on the bill, to which we may return. The legal advisers’ recommendations are set out in the boxes below paragraphs 11, 21, 26 and 36. Do we agree to the recommendations as set out?
It is suggested that the powers in sections 13 and 26 should be subject to affirmative procedure, as we said in our stage 1 report. The clerks have also told me that the member in charge of the bill has indicated that she will lodge amendments to that effect. I am sure that we will be grateful for that but, in the event that she does not, we need to decide whether I should lodge such amendments for stage 3 proceedings on behalf of the committee.
Secondly, do we agree that if other amendments are not forthcoming we will lodge committee amendments in my name?
We will go forward on that basis. Do we agree to delegate to our legal advisers authority to ask questions of the Scottish Government on issues that arise in bills for the remainder of the session, because of the timescale to which we are working? We have only three meetings after this one. Surely we can trust our team to do that on our behalf.
Of course. We trust them implicitly.
Implicitly, completely, explicitly and all the rest of it.