Committee
Local Government and Transport Committee, 27 Mar 2007
27 Mar 2007 · S2 · Local Government and Transport Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
Business Improvement Districts (Scotland) Regulations 2007 (SSI 2007/202)
We will report to Parliament accordingly. I thank the minister and his team for attending.Before I close the meeting, I repeat my thanks to committee members and clerking staff for their support and work in the past four years. During those four years, we have held 116 meetings and taken evidence from 533 witnesses, which makes us one of the busier committees in this session of Parliament. We have been the lead committee on eight parliamentary bills and we have held committee meetings here and in Motherwell and had a videoconference with a witness in Ethiopia. The committee's longest meeting, which lasted for seven and a half hours, took place on 18 January 2005, from 2.08 to 9.40, to discuss the UK Railways Bill. That is probably the longest committee meeting in the Parliament to date and is a record that we may well hold for some time, although, at times today when Mr Ewing was speaking, I thought that we were going to beat it.It has been a pleasure to convene the committee in the past four years. Although we all want different outcomes from the election that we are about to face, I am sure that we all hope for energetic engagement with the people of Scotland and a strong turnout in the election.
In the same item of business
The Convener:
Lab
I reconvene the meeting.Agenda item 4 is another item of subordinate legislation. The committee will debate and reach a decision on motion S2M-5784, in the n...
The Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform (Mr Tom McCabe):
Lab
Thank you for this opportunity to say a few words in the light of the motion that has been lodged. We regard the regulations as being very important, so the ...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Will the BID proposal that is put to each business that is eligible to take part in the vote include, first, how much it will cost in total to implement the ...
Nikola Plunkett (Scottish Executive Finance and Central Services Department):
Do you mean the proposal that they vote on?
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Pardon?
Nikola Plunkett:
That is in the schedules.
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
I quote from schedule 1, on the "Content of BID Proposals". Paragraph 1(1) says that"a BID proposal shall include"the items that are listed in subparagraphs ...
Mr McCabe:
Lab
I understood that we had covered those points in the regulations. Even if we have not, my reaction in such a situation would be simply to say that I had no w...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
So, if I were a business, I would not know how much the levy would be that I was being asked to—
Mr McCabe:
Lab
I never said that. As I understand it, we have already covered that point in the regulations.
Nikola Plunkett:
I refer Fergus Ewing to regulation 5.
The Convener:
Lab
Paragraph 1(1)(d) of schedule 1 says that there will be"a statement providing details of any additional financial contributions or additional actions for the...
Colin Gilchrist (Scottish Executive Legal and Parliamentary Services):
Regulation 5(2)(a) provides that the bid proposer requires to send to the local authority and the billing body a summary of the consultation that had been un...
Mr McCabe:
Lab
Some members are unclear about which part of the instrument we are reading from.
The Convener:
Lab
I was referring to schedule 1. Mr Gilchrist was referring to section 5(2)(a) on page 4.
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Regulation 5, on page 3, states:"BID proposals … shall include the matters mentioned in Schedule 1"and schedule 1 states that"a BID proposal shall include"th...
Mr McCabe:
Lab
I disagree. Reference has already been made to different parts of the regulations, which clearly show that that is a requirement. Requirements in the section...
Colin Gilchrist:
Article 4 of the section 104 order, which was laid at Westminster on 9 March, provides that the details of the imposition, amount and calculation of the BID ...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Do we have that document?
Nikola Plunkett:
No. It is United Kingdom legislation.
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Are you saying that the effect of the section 104 order—which we do not have before us and to which the minister has not previously alluded—will require the ...
Colin Gilchrist:
That is correct. Article 4(3) of the levy order provides that "The calculation of BID levy for any chargeable period shall be specified in the BID proposals ...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Why are there parallel arrangements governing the implementation of BIDs in Scotland?
Mr McCabe:
Lab
I take exception to Mr Ewing's inference that we have never referred to a section 104 order. Committee members are well aware that an integral part of the pa...
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
With respect, I remain to be convinced. Given that that information is not referred to in the instrument, I am not convinced that it will have to be provided...
The Convener:
Lab
I am happy for you to continue.
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
Thank you. My question arises from the evidence that the committee heard at our meeting on 6 March, when Miss Plunkett, Mr Gilchrist and the minister said th...
Mr McCabe:
Lab
I am sorry, will you repeat your question?
Fergus Ewing:
SNP
On 6 March, Mr Gilchrist said:"The amount of the levy is allocated between the owner and the ratepayer."—Official Report, Local Government and Transport Comm...
Colin Gilchrist:
The BID proposal must provide for the allocation of the levy between the owner and the ratepayer. The BID proposer must assess the respective benefits of the...