Meeting of the Parliament 24 April 2025
I will come to process, because the point that Michelle Thomson makes speaks to the point that this is about our processes and how things are scrutinised in this place. I am always up for discussing how things can be improved, but I was merely making a point about whether there has been an increase in frequency of the use of what is referred to as framework legislation. That was referred to by the convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, and I am responding to that point; it has also been referred to in the report and in wider discourse in the chamber. I am merely responding to the assertion. Although it has been asserted that there has been an increase, I have seen very little evidence to justify that being held to be the case.
I will turn to the issue at hand, which is the appropriateness of and the manner in which we utilise secondary legislation-making powers and the process. Before I come to that, I thank the committee for the work that it has undertaken on the issue during this parliamentary session. It has been a useful exercise for the committee to take away the issue, look at it in the round and then to gather evidence, hear from a variety of sources and bring forward a report. I commend the committee and the clerks who have supported it on that work and, of course, the people who went to the committee with their evidence.
The issues that have been raised in the report could be felt to be rather arcane, dry or dusty technicalities around the legislative process, but it is about more than that. It speaks to the responsibility that we as a Government carry for bringing forward proposals to Parliament for its approval in order to make good and effective law and for explaining as clearly as possible not just what the immediate impact of any proposed legislation will be but the ways in which that legislation might be used in the future. I take that responsibility seriously, the Scottish Government takes that responsibility seriously, and it informs how we approach every bill that we take forward.
It is also important to recognise that we live in the real world, where things change, and that, by necessity, it is sometimes sensible to take delegated powers so that we can adapt to circumstances quickly. Indeed, I think that that was the point that the convener of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee made. It is appropriate for us to introduce legislation that sets out the broad principles but then relies on us to put things into effect through secondary legislation—I refer, for example, to the payment of benefits, the uprating of benefits, the provision of charges and the registration costs for certain professions. No one would suggest that we come back on a regular basis to set those things by primary legislation, so of course it is sensible that we use secondary legislation to do so.