Subordinate Legislation Committee, 27 Jan 2009

Meeting date: Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Official Report 149KB pdf

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Instruments Subject to Annulment

I welcome everyone to the fourth meeting in 2009 of the Subordinate Legislation Committee. We have received apologies from Jackson Carlaw. I remind everyone to turn off their mobile phones and BlackBerrys.

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Instruments Subject <br />to Annulment

I welcome everyone to the fourth meeting in 2009 of the Subordinate Legislation Committee. We have received apologies from Jackson Carlaw. I remind everyone to turn off their mobile phones and BlackBerrys.

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Rural Development Contracts (Rural Priorities) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009/1)

Are members content with the explanation provided by the Scottish Government, and to report to the lead committee and Parliament accordingly?

I have a couple of concerns, convener. We are told that guidance is available on the web page http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/04/01115039/124, which is an extract from the "Scotland Rural Development Programme 2007-2013". In that guidance, which is for people who are affected by the regulations, the currency used is euros, whereas in the regulations, it is pounds. A conversion of the euro rate in the guidance works out at £1.79 per tree and £551.37 per hectare at today's rates as opposed to £1.30 per tree and £400 per hectare.

In one way, that is misleading; in another, it means that people who are pruning trees are benefiting from the decreasing value of the pound, which might not be the Government's intention either. I wonder whether we have any questions about whether, when European regulations specify payment in euros, the equivalent United Kingdom regulations automatically alter when the euro exchange rate alters in accordance with the value of the pound, and whether that could be sorted out.

I see your point. I propose that we take up the issue and talk about it at our next meeting.

I have another issue, I am afraid.

The regulations specify a cost for "high pruning", which is counted per tree, but there is also a figure for the "high pruning of trees", which is costed per hectare of trees. However, nowhere in the regulations or in the rural development programme does it state when "tree" changes into "trees".

For example, if someone was high pruning two trees, would it be two times £1.30 or, because trees, rather than a tree, were being pruned, would the cost become a proportion of a hectare? How do you work out trees and hectares? Trees are trees and hectares are a measurement of land. Is there a point at which the cost stops being £1.30 per tree and starts being £400 per hectare? Is it when you have a hectare with trees? If you have half a hectare, would you get half the hectare rate, or would you get a multiple of the tree rate? That confuses me, and I have found no explanation.

You have obviously had some fun considering that point.

Convener, "high pruning" and "high pruning of trees" are matters of deep interest to me as a tree planter.

That is very clear, and I thank you for the thought that you have put into it. I am reminded that we have to report on the regulations this week, so are you happy for the committee to report on the regulations and come back to your point later?

Yes, but it needs to be sorted out. It would be confusing to someone who has 10 or 20 trees.

I can see that you will be given a high stepladder for Christmas.

We will come back to those points but the regulations will proceed in the meantime.

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Animal By-Products (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009/7)<br />Plant Health (Import Inspection Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2009 (SSI 2009/8)

The committee agreed that no points arose on the instruments.