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This item is for the committee to consider the delegated powers provisions in the Education (Scotland) Bill as amended at stage 2.
The stage 3 debate on the bill will take place on Tuesday 2 February 2016; members should therefore agree their conclusions today.
Paragraph 3 of the schedule to the bill inserts a new section 3AA into the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. This new section sets out a list of wellbeing factors that are to be taken into account by an education authority or tribunal when considering whether a child’s wellbeing is adversely affected.
Those wellbeing factors also appear in section 96 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. New section 3AA(3) of the 2004 act as inserted by the bill provides that the Scottish ministers may by regulation modify this list of wellbeing factors. A similar power exists in section 96(6) of the 2014 act.
The supplementary delegated powers memorandum notes that the new power is necessary to enable the list of wellbeing factors to be updated in the 2004 act to meet any amendments made to the list of factors in section 96 of the 2014 act. Therefore, the intention is for the new power to be consequential on changes to the 2014 act.
The power to amend the list of wellbeing factors in section 96 of the 2014 act is subject to the affirmative procedure whereas the power to be inserted into the 2004 act by the bill is subject to the negative procedure. For reasons of consistency with the 2014 act, the committee may consider that this power ought also to be subject to the affirmative procedure.
Does the committee agree to: draw to the attention of the Parliament the power in the new section 3AA of the 2004 act, as inserted by paragraph 3 of the schedule to the bill; and recommend that the bill is further amended at stage 3 to make this power subject to the affirmative procedure?
Convener, you said that the powers in the 2004 act and the 2014 act are “similar”. They go beyond similarity to being identical.
While I am content that we draw Parliament’s attention to the insertion of new section 3AA in the terms that are suggested, it is also worth noting that it might have been more satisfactory to amend one of the acts to consolidate into a single list, so that there is always continuity within what would be one list rather than two.
Having the negative procedure for one list, as is currently provided for in the bill, and the affirmative for the other, there is a substantial danger that the timescales for implementation would be different, even if the orders were laid on the same day.
Aligning the procedures is certainly necessary. It is slightly remiss, however, that we have not taken the opportunity to end up with one list, if the intention is that the lists should always be identical.
Indeed. Are we therefore content to draw those points to the Parliament’s attention?
Members indicated agreement.
Does the committee also agree that it is content with the remaining delegated powers in the bill that have been added or substantially amended at stage 2?
Members indicated agreement.
That concludes item 6. I will briefly suspend the meeting to allow the panel of witnesses for item 7 to come in.
11:24 Meeting suspended.