Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Official Report 336KB pdf

Subordinate Legislation

Common Agricultural Policy (Direct Payments etc) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Regulations 2016 (SSI 2016/178)

Item 4 is consideration of a negative instrument. Paper 3 summarises the purpose of the instrument, which is to extend the deadline in which farmers in Scotland can apply for common agricultural policy subsidies in 2016.

I advise members that the instrument was considered yesterday by the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee. In its report, that committee drew the Parliament’s attention to the fact that the instrument came into force on 18 May, the day after it was laid in the Scottish Parliament, and that that breached the required 28-day period between the laying of an instrument and its coming into force. The DPLR Committee found the failure to comply with the requirement to be acceptable in the circumstances. The reasons for that were outlined by the Minister for Parliamentary Business in his letter to the Presiding Officer dated 17 May, which members have seen—it is annex A to paper 3.

No motions to annul have been received in relation to the instrument. Do members have any comments?

With regard to the 28-day period, it is always slightly uncomfortable when a piece of secondary legislation has to be tabled and come into operation almost at once. It was necessary in the circumstances that the Government found itself in. Just as the DPLR Committee has indicated that it accepts that there are good reasons for it, I think that we might similarly find that that is the case.

We do not want to see that statutory instrument run on and on—it needs to come to a conclusion and we know where we are.

I take that point. We are discussing the instrument, and we can maybe come on to how it works later.

Is the committee agreed that it does not wish to make any recommendations in relation to the instrument?

Members indicated agreement.