Subordinate Legislation Committee
Meeting date: Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Official Report
273KB pdf
Public Bodies Act 2011
Public Bodies (Abolition of the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) Order 2012
The next item of business is consideration of a United Kingdom Government order under section 9 of the UK Public Bodies Act 2011.
As members will see from the briefing paper, section 9 of the 2011 act requires the consent of the Scottish Parliament to any order that would be within its legislative competence. The Subordinate Legislation Committee will consider and report on such orders on the same grounds as any other order laid before the Parliament.
The procedure for such orders is a pilot approach. The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee will consider the procedure, and members will have an opportunity to comment on its operation before a permanent approach is agreed.
The order abolishes the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, which will be reconstituted in the charity sector to continue its work. The UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills considers that the specific matters in relation to which NESTA exercises its functions are not generally reserved. The body’s removal therefore falls within this Parliament’s competence, and its consent is therefore required before the order can be made.
Our legal advisers have pointed out a minor drafting error in the amendment to section 430(1) of the Income Tax Act 2007, as provided for in the schedule to the order, which removes the word “and” that precedes paragraph (c), when it should not. Do members agree to report the order on the general reporting ground, as it contains a minor drafting error?
Members indicated agreement.
Do members have any comments about the process for dealing with such orders under the UK Public Bodies Act 2011?
Members: No.
It seems straightforward enough.