Subordinate Legislation Committee, 27 Jun 2006

Meeting date: Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Official Report 145KB pdf

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Executive Responses

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Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Amendment<br />(No 2) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/325)

Agenda item 3 is Executive responses. As members will recall, we raised two points on these regulations. First, to our question of why section 36(3)(bb) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 had not been cited as an enabling power or its relevance indicated in a footnote, the Executive has said that it was not cited because it was not, in itself, an enabling power. However, it has acknowledged an oversight with regard to the footnote. I take it that members agree to draw the response to the attention of the lead committee and Parliament on the ground of failure to follow proper legislative practice.

Members indicated agreement.

Secondly, we asked the Executive about the purpose of regulation 1(2), which contains definitions of terms that are not used in the regulations. The Executive accepts that regulation 1(2) is superfluous. Do members agree to pass its response to the lead committee and the Parliament on the ground of defective drafting?

Members indicated agreement.

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Firefighters' Pension Scheme Amendment (Scotland) Order 2006 (SSI 2006/342)

We asked the Executive three questions on this order. First, on the reference to "Firefighters' Compensation Scheme", the Executive has acknowledged defective drafting.

Secondly, on our request for clarification about the reference to paragraph 57 in schedule 1, the Executive considers that it is sufficiently clear to the reader.

Thirdly, on our request for clarification of whether the corresponding entry for rule K2 in schedule 2 was correct, the Executive has acknowledged defective drafting. Do members agree to pass the Executive's response on the three points to the lead committee and Parliament?

Members indicated agreement.

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Adults with Incapacity (Removal of Regenerative Tissue for Transplantation) (Form of Certificate) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/343)

With regard to these regulations, we asked the Executive, first, about the absence of a starting date for the certificate and, secondly, about the power to revoke the certificate. The Executive says that it intends to revoke and replace the regulations to take into account the points that we have raised.

We should report the regulations to the lead committee in those terms.

I think so, too. We should also make it clear that we welcome the plans to replace the regulations.

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Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (Scotland) Order 2006 (SSI 2006/336)

We raised six points on the order and members have seen the Executive's response. Our legal advisers discussed a number of points with the Executive at an early stage, which enabled the Executive to amend the order before it was sent for printing and thereby avoid the need for an amending instrument. However, that should not detract from the fact that the order, which as we know has important consequences for those affected by it, contained—like previous instruments—many drafting errors. Members commented on those last week.

We can pass on three main points to the lead committee and Parliament. The first point that we raised with the Executive was that the instrument was not accompanied by a transposition note, but that has now been supplied. The Executive has acknowledged our second point, which was that the order's meaning could be clearer. Thirdly, the Executive has acknowledged the defective drafting that we raised in our other four points.

We do not have a timescale for amending the order.

Do we not?

I do not think that we do.

Sorry, that was my mistake.

So we have a timetable for amending the order.

Many of the errors were corrected at printing.