Criminal Justice Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Official Report 443KB pdf

Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill

Our next item of business is consideration of a legislative consent memorandum on the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill. I refer members to paper 2.

The bill deals mostly with reserved matters, but it proposes a couple of changes to devolved competences. For example, the amendment to the Public Service Pensions Act 2013 that is explained in the LCM relates to judicial pension schemes and the ability to add additional devolved offices to the new judicial pension scheme. If the bill is passed, the Scottish Government will propose that the mandatory retirement age for judges and sheriffs be increased from 70 to 75. The bill will also enable devolved judicial offices to be added to a judicial pension scheme, which will be done though legislation that is considered in the United Kingdom Parliament.

I note that the Scottish Parliament’s Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee wrote to the cabinet secretary to seek an explanation as to why the changes are not being made by Scottish statutory instrument. As members will be aware, we have received a copy of the reply from the cabinet secretary to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee clarifying that point.

I invite members to come in with any views or comments on the LCM.

There are no comments. Does the committee agree to recommend to the Scottish Parliament that the relevant provisions of the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill should be considered by the UK Parliament?

Members indicated agreement.

I will arrange for a short, factual report to be published on our deliberations.

That concludes the public part of the meeting. We move into private session and on to MS Teams.