Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Official Report 573KB pdf

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Subordinate Legislation

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Tuberculosis (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Revocation Order 2018 (SSI 2018/202)

Item 2 is consideration of a negative instrument on tuberculosis that revokes SSI 2018/164, which the committee considered on 20 June 2018. Stakeholders experienced difficulties with the consultation process for the original order, and the Scottish Government wrote to the committee stating that it intended to revoke the order, which the committee welcomed. The committee will consider a further Scottish statutory instrument that amends the policy once it has been laid by the Scottish Government.

No motions to annul have been received. Does anyone wish to make any recommendations in relation to the order before us?

I am quite happy for the committee to make no particular recommendations on the order, but it would be appropriate to say that, over the coming months in this policy area, we can expect to receive quite a large number of pieces of secondary legislation connected to the Brexit process. I hope that the minister will take note of what has happened here—the process associated with this piece of secondary legislation has been substantially substandard. I hope that the minister will make sure that appropriate resources are in place in this policy area to ensure that other instruments—which will come before us in quite short order, giving us little time to consider them—are prepared with a greater degree of care, so that we do not find ourselves in the same position.

Thank you for that observation.

I have two brief comments. First, I reiterate what Stewart Stevenson said. We should impress on ministers the need for due consultation processes to be followed in future. That would help the committee.

Secondly, does the convener know whether the revocation of the previous SSI will instigate a new consultation process that will bring into play a future SSI for the committee to consider? What will be the timescale for that?

I cannot give you an indication of timescale, but I know that the Government has gone back out to consultation to seek the views that were not taken in the first place. That process is under way, but I have no idea of the timescale for it. I am sure that the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy will want to put something before the committee as soon as he has taken proper advice and consulted the parties.

I thank members for those observations. Does the committee agree that it does not wish to make any recommendation in relation to SSI 2018/202?

Members indicated agreement.

10:23 Meeting continued in private until 12:27.