Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 23 March 2021
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests and the support that I have received in relation to the Tied Pubs (Scotland) Bill. At the outset, I thank Andy Wightman for his interest in the bill and his contribution as a member of the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee. I congratulate him on progressing his own bill to stage 3 today.
Section 14(2) of the bill confirms that arbitration proceedings under the bill must be conducted in line with the rules of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators or any other dispute resolution body nominated by the arbitrator. The purpose is to ensure that arbitrations are conducted in accordance with recognised sectoral rules and guidelines. However, amendment 2 would leave out that subsection entirely and would instead provide that, until the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 is in force for any arbitration being carried out under section 14(1), the act is to be treated as applying as though it were in force for that arbitration.
I have concerns about the construction of the amendment. For example, it would leave out all of section 14(2) instead of seeking to add a further provision to those already included. I also think that there is a risk in seeking to put what the amendment proposes into the bill when ministers have up to two years in which to make the code and appoint an adjudicator. Could we be sure that what was agreed now would be fit for purpose by the time the code and adjudicator were in place? The 2010 act’s statutory arbitration provisions might be in force by the time the bill became operational law, in a couple of years, leaving the approach in amendment 2 unnecessary.
Like the minister, I think that it would be better not to agree to the amendment today. If, when the time comes, the Scottish Government feels that the bill needs to be linked to the 2010 act more effectively, it can use the power that is already in the bill to make ancillary regulations. I therefore ask Andy Wightman not to press amendment 2.