Plenary, 27 Feb 2002

Meeting date: Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Official Report 359KB pdf

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Marriage (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

We move to stage 3 proceedings of the Marriage (Scotland) Bill. I shall dispense with the usual long preamble and simply remind members that they should have with them the bill as amended at stage 2, the marshalled list that contains the amendments that I have selected for debate and the grouping that I have agreed. Each amendment will be disposed of in turn. The electronic voting system will be used for all divisions. I shall allow an extended voting period of two minutes for the first division that occurs after debate on the two amendments.

Section 1—Solemnisation of civil marriages at places approved by local authorities

Amendment 1, in the name of the minister, is grouped with amendment 2. I call the minister to move amendment 1 and to speak to both amendments in the group.

The purpose of amendment 1 is technical. The substantive amendment is amendment 2. Amendment 2 will place in the bill a right of appeal against decisions made by local authorities with regard to the locations of civil marriages. The importance of a right of appeal was noted by the Local Government Committee. The Executive lodged an appropriate amendment at stage 2, but the committee considered that the amendment was too widely drawn; therefore, amendment 2 narrows the scope of the grounds for appeal, which are set out in proposed subsection (2B). The grounds of appeal are:

"(a) that the local authority's decision was based on an error of law;

(b) that the local authority's decision was based on an incorrect material fact;

(c) that the local authority has acted contrary to natural justice; or

(d) that the local authority has acted unreasonably in the exercise of its discretion."

As members who study such things and members of the committee will know, that is almost exactly the text of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, which provides for similar procedures. That is a repetition of regulation 17 of the now-replaced regulations that were made under the bill, and it was acceptable to the working group on the regulations, which included representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and registrars' representatives. I do not think that I need to add anything to that.

I move amendment 1.

The SNP will support both amendments. I welcome the minister's amendment 2, which will place the right of appeal in the bill instead of in regulations, as was originally anticipated. The suggestion that the right of appeal would be put in regulations was of concern to the Local Government Committee and to the Subordinate Legislation Committee, and I welcome the fact that the minister has now taken the right steps.

It is right and proper that the grounds on which an appeal can be made are narrow and that it is not left to the sheriff to arrive at his own judgment of what is the right location. We welcome the clear definition of the areas of appeal and will therefore support both amendments.

The Liberal Democrats will also support the amendments. At stage 1, the Local Government Committee supported the request of the Subordinate Legislation Committee that the appeals mechanism should be included in the bill. An amendment was lodged at stage 2, which the Local Government Committee felt went too far. It is valuable that the Executive has taken account of the views of the Subordinate Legislation Committee and the Local Government Committee and concluded that the sensible way in which to proceed is to echo the provisions that exist in other legislation—namely the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982—and which are readily understandable. It is sensible to ensure that the right of appeal exists but is limited to errors in law and fact. I thank the minister for lodging amendment 2, which will tidy up the bill.

The bill is ready to be approved, so I am unsure how you are going to fill the next 35 and a half minutes, Presiding Officer.

I had not anticipated speaking, so my colleague Keith Harding will take over in a moment.

We welcome the bill and believe that amendment 2 is appropriate and wise. The right of appeal is not only appropriate, but will ensure fairness and justice for all concerned. We are grateful to the minister for lodging amendment 2.

I think that I am expected to call Keith Harding, but his button has not been pressed.

I would like to be called, but I do not know where we are.

I apologise for the delay, but I was called rather quickly. The Conservatives support amendments 1 and 2 and welcome the fact that the minister has taken on board issues that we raised. We will support the bill at the end of the day.

I am sure that we all agree that that was worth waiting for. I call the minister to respond to the debate.

I am pleased that amendment 2 has met with the acceptance of all parties, and of the Local Government Committee and the Subordinate Legislation Committee. It was important to include in the bill a right of appeal. The Local Government Committee and the Subordinate Legislation Committee proposed that important consideration and we are grateful for that. The scope of the bill is now correctly drawn.

I point out that that an appeal beyond a sheriff to the Court of Session is, as it says in proposed section (2E), limited to points of law only. There is nothing further to add, other than to thank members again for their help in constructing the amendments.

Amendment 1 agreed to.

Amendment 2 moved—[Euan Robson]—and agreed to.