Equal Opportunities Committee, 21 Sep 1999

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 21, 1999

Official Report 133KB pdf

---

Scrutiny of Legislation

We now move on to scrutiny of legislation.

I apologise for the fact that most of my comments on the equality unit came from the paper on scrutiny of legislation.

Please excuse me while I find the report. Everyone has it—even me. Do members have any questions or comments about the report?

Perhaps we could work out a timetable of when legislation will come out. Could we track legislation at its earlier stages, such as at the white—or even green—paper stage? Would it be possible to get a sheet of paper that maps out when legislation will come and shows which white and green papers will become legislation in the fullness of time? From that, we could work out a timetable on legislation—there is no doubt that that would help us.

Martin, how easy would that be?

In a sense, what is knowable is known already. The programme for government document outlines the broad framework of the Government's priorities until 2003. The consultation papers that have been published so far are available on the Scottish Executive's website and we can get information about them—most of that information was circulated at our previous meeting.

We are aware of the legislative programme—the eight bills that have been announced for this parliamentary year—and will be advised of proposals for bills as they come out. The same applies to papers and so on that are laid before the Parliament, about which we will be notified in the business bulletin. We know as much as can be known at present. Perhaps I should ensure that, meeting by meeting, the committee is advised of anything new that has come out since the previous meeting. We know that the education bill has come out—

Sorry, Martin, but at the previous meeting—I apologise for missing it—did you refer to the timetabling of legislation? I am more interested in that, so that we can try to anticipate—

We know that there is a consultation paper and a draft education bill. Following the consultation exercise on the education bill, there are plans to introduce the revised bill in November. We can work out a timetable bearing that in mind. We know that the bureau will refer the matter to the appropriate committee—

Sorry, Martin—I do not mean to refer to the specifics of the timetable once a consultation paper has been published. I refer to the other pieces of legislation. Do we have a timetable for early 2001, for late 2001, for 2002 and so on?

The eight pieces of legislation are for the parliamentary year 1999-2000 and we do not know more than what has been published in the programme for government document. The purpose of this paper is to advise members that it should be possible to know which major bills are coming up and the broad timetable for each of them. Consultation papers—when they are published—and other business will come to the committee, and members might want to take an interest in secondary legislation—in Scottish statutory instruments. That will be difficult, but it is a question of watching out.

Just in our spare time, when we are not looking at anything else.

Yes, in any spare time that members have.

This report is simply for members' information.

The report shows how the committee can deal with the bills in which it is interested. In other words, members can invite organisations to submit their views. Members can decide whether they want the committee's views to be transmitted to the lead committee on a bill. Members can also, if they wish, send delegates—if that is the right word—to a lead committee, just as any MSP can sit in on a meeting of another committee and speak at the invitation of the convener. Even when a bill gets to stage 2—where a committee goes through the wording line by line—this committee could ask one or two of its members to attend the lead committee's meeting and, if necessary, to move amendments.

We requested this paper at the previous meeting and it covers parts of our earlier discussion.

It does not include a checklist, but it establishes a process.

On Martin's final point, I see that, under the heading "Issues", the report refers to a proofing checklist. I do not know whether that is appropriate terminology, but I take it that that refers to a template of some sort. We should have a template in the consultation phase, so should that not also be included under the heading

"Mechanisms for scrutiny of legislation"?

That was identified as an issue at the previous meeting, as it does not fit into the system that is outlined in the report.

That is up to the committee; I have no objection to it.

Do members have any other comments on the report?

As a matter of routine, when we are first dealing with a piece of legislation, we should have in front of us the questions that we have to decide at the end of the process. Do we want to pass our comments to the lead committee—yes or no? Do we want to make amendments, and, if so, what are the amendments? Do we want delegates to attend the lead committee—yes or no? We could quickly dispose of those pieces of legislation where we do not want to go through the process. If those questions were always at the end of the template—rounding up the first stage—we would keep in mind the possibility of excluding options as well as of progressing others.

On page 2, under "Stage 1 consideration", the report says:

"Each new Executive Bill, and the equal opportunities assessment within the accompanying explanatory memorandum will be placed on the agenda".

Am I right in thinking that the equal opportunities assessment will come from the equality unit?

Yes.

With regard to the education bill, if the unit is not up and running, will we have the equality assessment?

I will find out. Staff from the unit are working and they may be producing an assessment even though the unit has not been headed up. I do not think that the bill would be published without an equality assessment

As a point of interest, the memorandum for the emergency legislation contained a statement on equal opportunities, so I presume that something could be produced for the education bill.

Yes. Although the unit is not fully operational, some people are doing the work.

Martin has asked me whether the committee wants to consider the adults with incapacity bill, which is the other bill that we could look at.

Members indicated agreement.

We will initiate the process for that bill as well.