Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee
Meeting date: Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Official Report
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Defective and Dangerous Buildings (Recovery of Expenses) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1
Under item 4 the committee will consider the delegated powers in the bill at stage 1. In considering the bill, the committee is invited to agree the questions that it wishes to raise with the member in charge on the delegated powers in the bill. It is suggested that those questions be raised in written correspondence. The responses received will help to inform a draft report on the bill, which the committee will consider at a later date.
The bill inserts into the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 new schedule 5A, which specifies the content of both charging orders and discharges of charging orders. The schedule provides that a charging order must contain certain information, including the postal address of the building to be charged, the name and address of the local authority making the order, the repayment amount, and the amount of the annual instalment due under the order.
New section 46A(2) of the 2003 act provides that, unless otherwise required by an order made under section 46A(3), a charging order is to be in such form as the local authority may determine to give effect to, and state the information required by, schedule 5A. Section 46A(3) provides that the Scottish ministers may by order specify the form that charging orders and discharges of charging orders are to take.
Does the committee agree to ask the member in charge for further explanation as to the manner in which this power is to be exercised and, in particular, whether it is expected that ministers will use the power to amend the terms of new schedule 5A to the Building (Scotland) Act 2003, and why, if it is expected that the power will be used to make textual amendments to primary legislation, the negative procedure is considered to afford the appropriate level of scrutiny over the exercise of that power?
Members indicated agreement.