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Scottish Regulators’ Strategic Code of Practice (SG 2014/236)
I welcome members to the 33rd meeting in 2014 of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee. As always, I ask members to turn off mobile phones.
Agenda item 1 is a draft document subject to approval. The code of practice is not a Scottish statutory instrument but, in accordance with section 6 of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, it is subject to approval by resolution of the Parliament.
Section 5(5) of the 2014 act places a duty on relevant regulators to have regard to the code in determining general policies or principles that are relevant to specified regulatory functions, and in exercising those specified functions. In light of the statutory requirement, the Scottish ministers’ intention—as expressed in paragraph 9 of the introduction and overview of the code—that the code should not apply to the exercise of regulatory functions in individual cases appears to be an unusual or unexpected use of the power that is conferred on the ministers by section 5.
Does the committee therefore agree to draw the code of practice to the attention of the Parliament under reporting ground (g), as the way in which the enabling powers have been used is unusual or unexpected?
As I sit on the subject committee that dealt with the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Bill, I can tell members that considerable emphasis was placed on the code of practice. Given the anomaly that our legal advisers have pointed out, I hope that the Government will pay attention to the points that have been made and will endeavour to correct that and clarify the situation.
So are we agreed?
Members indicated agreement.
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