Finance Committee, 11 Feb 2003

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Official Report 274KB pdf

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Budget (Scotland) (No 4) Bill: Stage 2

Item 2 on the agenda is our stage 2 consideration of the Budget (Scotland) (No 4) Bill. We will consider the bill in the following order: section 1, schedules 1 and 2, section 2, schedules 3 and 4, sections 3 to 5, schedule 5 and sections 6 to 10, followed by the long title.

No amendments have been lodged to section 1.

Section 1 agreed to.

Schedule 1

The Scottish Administration

Amendment 1 is grouped with amendments 2, 3 and 6.

The amendments in the group are all technical adjustments that will correct errors in the drafting of the bill. Traditionally, normal practice would have been for such changes to be made at the next revision and for them to be passed largely unnoticed at that stage.

Amendments 1 and 6 will bring the bill up to date to reflect the passage of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002. Amendment 1 will give ministers wider authority to spend resources on water other than by loans to Scottish Water.

Amendment 6 will change the reference in the bill to section 84 of the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 to a reference to section 42 of the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, which replaced it. Amendments 2 and 3, which will correct errors in the numbers, seek authorisation for a higher limit of accruing resources for the Scottish Executive environment and rural affairs department and a higher level of resources other than accruing resources for the education department.

Amendment 3 will correct an unfortunate error that was made in the supporting document, which made it look as if we were cutting the tourism, culture and sport line, as Mr Monteith pointed out in the stage 1 debate. The error was caused by receipts worth £19 million being wrongly subtracted twice before the total resources sought were calculated. The amendment will bring the bill back in line with the "Building a Better Scotland" document.

I move amendment 1.

Amendment 1 agreed to.

Amendment 2 moved—[Peter Peacock]—and agreed to.

Schedule 1, as amended, agreed to.

Schedule 2

Accruing resources of the Scottish Administration which may be used without individual limit

Amendment 3 moved—[Peter Peacock]—and agreed to.

Schedule 2, as amended, agreed to.

Section 2 agreed to.

Schedules 3 and 4 agreed to.

Section 3—Overall cash authorisations

Amendment 4 is grouped with amendment 5.

Again, these are technical amendments to reflect errors in the bill's production. Both will make changes to the overall cash authorisations sought: amendment 4 deals with that for the Executive; and amendment 5 deals with that for Audit Scotland. Amendment 5 will correct the fact that the resource number has been included in the bill rather than the resulting cash required. Amendment 4 is more complicated, in that the change reflects the removal of resource elements from the cash authorisation followed by an increase as a result of amendment 3. I move amendment 4.

Amendment 4 agreed to.

Amendment 5 moved—[Peter Peacock]—and agreed to.

Section 3, as amended, agreed to.

Sections 4 and 5 agreed to.

Schedule 5

Scottish Executive Health Department

Amendment 6 moved—[Peter Peacock]—and agreed to.

Schedule 5, as amended, agreed to.

Sections 6 and 7 agreed to.

After section 7

Amendment 7 is grouped with amendment 8.

Amendment 7 will make several changes to the Budget (Scotland) Act 2001—the act that covered the past financial year. The amendment will make changes to the treatment of student loans that we agreed with the committee before Christmas. Similar changes are included in the spring revision for this financial year, and the Budget (Scotland) (No 4) Bill includes the new treatment for the next financial year. There is, of course, no real-world impact from the changes that were made to last year's bill beyond the opening position for this year's accounts.

The committee has already considered the changes and has taken advice from Professor Midwinter, so members will be aware that they are purely technical changes. However, the amendments are more exciting—my notes say—than those that we have considered previously, at least to the lawyers and accountants, because the amendments embody changes to a previous year's budget act. Amendment 8, which will change the long title of the bill, reflects discussions between the lawyers on both sides and ensures that amendment 7 falls within the bill's compass.

I move amendment 7.

I would like to speculate as, according to Mr Peacock, the Executive is not living in the real world anyway. What would be the effect of not agreeing to amendment 7? I wonder whether the minister could comment on that in his summation.

Will you try to make your answer as exciting as possible, minister?

My understanding is that not agreeing to amendment 7 could result in Audit Scotland qualifying the accounts of the Executive in relation to the item in question.

That would be tempting.

No other members have points. I take it that you have finished, minister.

Absolutely—no more excitement.

On this point.

Amendment 7 agreed to.

Sections 8, 9, and 10 agreed to.

Long Title

Amendment 8 moved—[Peter Peacock]—and agreed to.

Long title, as amended, agreed to.

That concludes stage 2 consideration of the Budget (Scotland) (No 4) Bill.