Environment and Rural Development Committee, 09 Jan 2007

Meeting date: Tuesday, January 9, 2007

Official Report 243KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Conservation of Salmon (Collection of Statistics) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/572)<br />Plant Protection Products (Scotland) Amendment (No 3) Regulations 2006<br />(SSI 2006/576)

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Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/582)<br />Sheep and Goats (Identification and Traceability) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Regulations 2006 (SSI 2006/594)

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Forestry Commission Byelaws 1982 Revocation (Scotland) Byelaws 2007 (draft)

I hope that I am right in judging colleagues' interest in the last few issues—I received no lobbying representations before the meeting. We have four negative instruments to consider. I shall read out the titles of the instruments, and the witnesses will see how the committee works. The instruments are the Conservation of Salmon (Collection of Statistics) (Scotland) Regulations 2006, the Plant Protection Products (Scotland) Amendment (No 3) Regulations 2006, the Environmental Impact Assessment (Agriculture) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and the Sheep and Goats (Identification and Traceability) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Regulations 2006. We also have to consider a set of draft byelaws—the Forestry Commission Byelaws 1982 Revocation (Scotland) Byelaws 2007—that are subject to annulment as a negative instrument.

The Subordinate Legislation Committee has commented on SSI 2006/572 and SSI 2006/582, and relevant extracts from its reports are in our papers. We also have correspondence from the Minister for Environment and Rural Development in response to the questions that we raised about the Plant Protection Products (Scotland) Amendment (No 3) Regulations 2006 at our meeting on 19 December. I think that the response is pretty helpful and fills in some of the gaps that I know Eleanor Scott in particular was keen to raise.

Do members have any comments on the instruments, having considered them in advance of the meeting?

No.

It is helpful to get extra information on the Plant Protection Products (Scotland) Amendment (No 3) Regulations 2006, as we wanted to know a bit more about it before we were happy to let it go through.

If there are no other questions or comments, are members content with the instruments and happy to make no recommendation to the Parliament?

Members indicated agreement.

The next meeting will be on 17 January at 10 am in this committee room, when we shall take further evidence for our marine environment inquiry.

I remind colleagues that stage 2 consideration of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill will take place at our meeting on 24 January. I have decided that the target for that meeting will be to complete parts 1 and 2 of the bill—sections 1 to 19—so amendments to those sections must be lodged by 12 noon on Friday 19 January. The target for the meeting the following week, on 31 January, will be to complete the bill. That is the target; it is up to the committee whether we achieve it. The deadline for lodging amendments to the remainder of the bill, including the schedule, will be 12 noon on Friday 26 January. I hope that that is clear.

Meeting closed at 16:45.