Hansard

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

03 Apr 2001

National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Amendment (No 2) (Scotland) Regulations 2001<br />(SSI 2001/105)

We raised several points on the regulations. In particular, we felt that the regulations contained a drafting error as they provide for the commencement of a regulation that does not exist. However, the Executive spotted the error, and intends to correct it by revoking the reg...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

09 Jan 2003

Child Protection Review

I start by welcoming the various and wide-ranging announcements that the minister has made today. Child protection issues almost always come to public attention through press and media reports of high-profile cases, which all too commonly involve details of tragic events and e...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

14 May 2002

Executive Responses

We had many questions on the draft regulations for the Executive and it has given us a full response. Without going into detail, we can say that the Executive has supplied the further explanation that we asked for on points 1, 5, 7 and 10 from last week's legal briefing on the...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

20 Mar 2001

National Health Service (General Dental Services) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/57)

The committee drew the Executive's attention to the drafting defects in the regulations. We will draw to the attention of the lead committee and the Parliament that the Executive has supplied the required explanation on the drafting of the powers mentioned in the preamble and ...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

03 Apr 2001

National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001<br />(SSI 2001/67)

We can do that.The committee also raised a point concerning the definition of the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 1988. As those regulations are referred to only once in the principal regulations in the terms define...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

05 Sep 2002

Looked-after Children

I have quoted Shakespeare before as saying:"When sorrows come, they come not single spies,But in battalions."I also remember waiting for corporation buses when I lived in Glasgow, and finding that none would come for ages and then they would all come together. Those are exampl...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

20 Mar 2001

National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/70)

I do not think that we have to go through every issue that has been brought to our attention. It would be best to draw all the points together in a critique of the regulations and to put that before the Executive. A whole heap of items need to be drawn to the Executive's atten...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

18 Sep 2001

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Ascertainment of Value) (Scotland)<br />(No 4) Order 2001 (SSI 2001/297)

The committee should draw the instrument to Parliament's attention as it required further explanation by the Executive. The committee should also draw Parliament's attention to the fact that article 2(6) is defectively drafted, as the Executive has acknowledged. That is regret...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

25 Sep 2001

Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2001 (SSI 2001/315)

A few other points have been drawn to our attention. We should write to the Executive to ask the questions that are raised in the legal advice that we have received. The instrument also contains a number of typographical errors that should be drawn to the Executive's attention.

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Committee

20 Nov 2001

Executive Responses

We should simply draw to the attention of the lead committee the fact that the order contains defective drafting. Furthermore, the Executive has provided us with an explanation, which is not wonderful, but at least it is there. We will also draw that information to the lead co...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

15 Jan 2002

Instruments Subject to Annulment

There is also an issue about the choice of panel members. One would expect some members of the panel to have legal qualifications, and although that might be what happens in common practice, it is not stipulated in the regulations. That matter ties in with representing childre...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

27 May 2002

Executive Responses

We asked the Executive four questions on the regulations. The first question was about the fact that the title does not show that the regulations are transitional. The Executive accepts that it might have been helpful for the title to show that. The second question raised the ...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

22 Jan 2002

Subordinate Legislation

I was going to say that when the Subordinate Legislation Committee has been faced with pieces of subordinate legislation that we think might be problematic, we have passed them to the lead committee with a note that draws its attention to the defective drafting—which has somet...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

12 Mar 2002

Executive Responses

We raised one point with the Executive. We asked why the exclusion of criminals from standing for election applies only to those convicted in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Irish Republic. The Executive indicates that the provision follows esta...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

10 Dec 2002

Executive Responses

Again, we may draw the attention of the lead committee and the Parliament to the regulations on the ground of defective drafting, which was acknowledged by the Executive in response to our first point. Our second and third points raised the issue that Gordon Jackson was partic...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Committee

14 Nov 2000

Education (National Priorities) (Scotland) Order 2000 (SSI 2000/draft)

The legal adviser drew drafting problems to our attention. The preamble is perhaps insufficiently precise. Also, article 3 states:"The National priorities in education for the purposes of section 4(1) of the Standards in Scotland's Schools etc. Act 2000".That is not quite accu...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

14 May 2002

Executive Responses

There are provisions for appeals in the Marriage (Scotland) Act 2002.We will consider point 6 briefly. It concerns poor drafting in relation to regulation 13(4). The legal advice on that is that we should draw it to the attention of the lead committee.Point 11 concerns paragra...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

14 Nov 2001

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Like others, I congratulate Johann Lamont on raising this issue and on securing today's debate.This Monday I attended a meeting of the Scottish oral cancer action group. I mention that because my attention was first drawn to the importance and prevalence of oral cancer when th...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

12 Mar 2002

Subordinate Legislation

The Subordinate Legislation Committee regularly comes across minor defects in drafting. The issues that are involved are sometimes complex, and it is a fairly regular procedure for the Subordinate Legislation Committee to point out minor defects to the Executive. The Executive...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

20 Mar 2001

National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001<br />(SSI 2001/62)

We received a helpful response on the regulations. We drew the Executive's attention to the need for consolidation. We will inform the lead committee and the Parliament of the Executive's explanation, provided in response to the committee's request for information about progre...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

03 Apr 2001

Feeding Stuffs (Sampling and Analysis) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/104)

We asked the Executive about the late implementation of European Community obligations in relation to the instrument. The committee is particularly concerned about how the Scotland Act 1998 interacts with European Community law. We should draw the attention of the lead committ...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

14 May 2002

Instruments Subject <br />to Annulment

The enabling power for the regulations does not specify who is to make the regulations to which that power refers. We may want to consider asking the Executive whether it has anything to add to its previous observations on that point, as such issues have already arisen on othe...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

10 Sep 2002

Executive Responses

This order needed to be cleared up a little, and much of the Executive's explanation does that. We should draw to the lead committee's attention the fact that the Executive has helpfully provided a full response.

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

17 Dec 2002

Executive Response

We asked the Executive a question about the reference to a tribunal that appeared to have been split into three separate tribunals. The references in the legislation therefore seemed imperfect to the committee. The Executive has acknowledged that the entry could have been word...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

11 Mar 2003

Executive Response

The next item is on the Executive's response to our queries on the Sheriff Court Fees Amendment Order 2003. There is a suggestion that we might wish to draw the order to the attention of the lead committee on the ground that its meaning required clarification, which the Execut...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

15 Jan 2003

Commissioner for Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

There is a sense of déjà vu about this debate, because it is not long since committee members talked about the report that established the case for the appointment of a commissioner for young people in Scotland. I welcome this short debate as the next procedural step on the wa...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Committee

27 Mar 2001

National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001<br />(SSI 2001/70)

Defective drafting in the instrument has been drawn to our attention; we should seek an explanation of that continuing problem. Furthermore, some vires issues must be raised. Finally, as Margo MacDonald said, we should draw the attention of the Parliament and the lead committe...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

03 Apr 2001

National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001<br />(SSI 2001/67)

Indeed. We will draw the lead committee's attention to that fact.The seventh point centres on another whole twist and turn in the instrument which creates confusion with regulation 4(2) and new regulations 8(7), 8(12) and 8(13) to 8(15). There is real difficulty understanding ...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

04 Apr 2001

Looked-after Children and Adoption Services

I welcome the debate and the minister's opening remarks. I will deal briefly with the Adoption and Children Bill's provisions for inter-country adoptions. I suspect that there will be agreement between all parties, and throughout the debate, regarding members' distaste for the...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

31 Jan 2002

Young Runaways

"Missing Out" is an important report and this is an important debate. The galleries are sometimes full of pressure groups in members' business debates, but there are no pressure groups here today. The children we are discussing will not have support unless we recognise their s...

Ian Jenkins: LD Chamber

27 Mar 2003

Closing the Opportunity Gap for Older People

No, the member did not say that.The substantial policies that I described affect the fabric of the way in which many people live their lives.It is important to improve information for the elderly. One of the briefing documents says that, in implementing the heating policy, the...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

03 Apr 2001

Valuation for Rating (Plant and Machinery) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/115)

The Executive's response was full and helpful. I do not know whether anyone wants to comment. We asked for an explanation of the Executive's breach of the 21-day rule and for clarification of whether the exemption from rating of an additional class of plant and machinery that ...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

10 Dec 2002

Executive Responses

The first item is executive responses to points that we made last week. We asked the Executive three questions on the regulations, to which it has given us good answers. On our first point, the Executive has acknowledged the drafting errors and expresses gratitude to the commi...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

13 Mar 2001

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Amendment) (No 2) (Scotland) Order 2001<br />(SSI 2001/55)

The Executive has made the amendments, but one of them is incomplete. We should draw that to the Executive's attention.

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

20 Mar 2001

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (Amendment) (No 2) (Scotland) Order 2001 <br />(SSI 2001/55)

The Executive has acknowledged our comments on the order and has made a good move by putting its hands up, acknowledging that it made a mistake, and correcting it quickly. I suggest that we draw the attention of the lead committee and the Parliament to the instrument on the gr...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

03 Apr 2001

National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001<br />(SSI 2001/67)

Our first item of business is the consideration of Executive responses. The committee raised many points on the regulations, particularly on the issue of consolidation. The Executive has said that it regrets that it has not yet been able to consolidate the principal regulation...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

03 Apr 2001

Import and Export Restrictions (Foot-and-Mouth Disease) (Scotland) Amendment (No 2) Regulations 2001 (SSI 2001/127)

The regulations make further amendments that relate to restrictions that have been imposed as a result of the foot-and-mouth outbreak. The situation is constantly changing, and I understand that the regulations have already been overtaken by a third set of amendment regulation...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

02 Oct 2001

Executive Responses

We also questioned whether rule 22(3) is an unduly limited use of the power. The Executive has failed to include an obligation to give reasons to the party concerned for a decision to refuse representation. We should draw that point to the attention of the lead committee and o...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

23 Oct 2001

Executive Responses

We got an explanation from the Executive. I think that we should just draw to the attention of the lead committee that we needed that explanation.

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

12 Mar 2002

Executive Responses

That is right. There are questions about the "total number of complaints", to which regulation 14 refers, and whether the provisions of regulation 14(b) reflect the Executive's intention. We will refer those matters to the Parliament and the lead committee.There is also defect...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

12 Mar 2002

Executive Responses

We asked the Executive for clarification of one provision in the order. We asked why article 15(2)(d) defined a crofter in terms of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955 and the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1961. Both of those acts have been repealed and consolidated in sections 3 and 4...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

26 Mar 2002

Executive Responses

Our third question to the Executive related to the provision of appeals, including in those situations in which a penalty is imposed. The response acknowledged that there should be an appeal process and that one would shortly be put in place. That would mean that no affected p...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

14 May 2002

Executive Responses

In question 4 to the Executive, we drew its attention to our worries about the vires of regulations 7(4), 15(2)(c) and 17(2), which require a local authority to refuse to grant an approval and entitle it to revoke or suspend an approval if it is satisfied that the applicant is...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

14 May 2002

Executive Responses

In legal terms, we may feel that paragraph 6 of the schedule is an unexpected or unusual use of the enabling power as applied to a place in the open air. The Executive's intention is clearly to try to maintain some sort of solemnity and dignity, but perhaps it is a triumph of ...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

21 May 2002

Draft Instruments Subject <br />to Approval

It is clear from the Executive's note that it has looked carefully at the technical standards directive and decided that it is not contravening that directive. When considering the technicalities of the manufacture of knives, such as the length of the blade and so on, there ar...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Committee

03 Sep 2002

Delegated Powers Scrutiny

A couple of Henry VIII powers are taken, but both of them are subject to the affirmative procedure. That is the kind of thing that we object to in principle, but if the powers are subject to the affirmative procedure we accept that that lessens the worry that we have.There is ...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

24 Sep 2002

Executive Responses

The Executive accepted that it did not need to define the terms, but felt that it might be helpful to do so. We can draw the regulations to the lead committee's attention without making a meal of it.

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

10 Dec 2002

Executive Responses

We need to draw the regulations to the attention of the lead committee on the ground of defective drafting, but state that the Executive acknowledges the errors and will bring forward an amending instrument.

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

21 Jan 2003

Toronto Conference

While we are looking for those, I will make a comment. I agree totally with the drift of the conversation. Can we, when we send the report to the Executive, draw ministers' attention to the Official Report of our discussion? Gordon Jackson said that the conference report may a...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

18 Feb 2003

Executive Responses

We will draw to the attention of the Parliament and the lead committee an unusual or unexpected use of powers. We also think that the Executive's powers over one matter are a wee bit limited. I do not know whether we need to go into huge detail, as our report to the lead commi...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

11 Mar 2003

Delegated Powers Scrutiny

The first item on the agenda, under delegated powers scrutiny, is the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Bill. Last week, we considered many amendments made at stage 2. We drew a number of points to the Executive's attention and asked for further information. The fi...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

22 Sep 1999

Tourism

I welcome the minister's statement today, and I welcome the tone of the debate. There is much that we can agree on across the chamber. Having listened to the minister, we can have no doubt that the Executive recognises the tremendous economic importance of tourism throughout S...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

20 Jun 2002

Foot-and-mouth Recovery Plan (Dumfries and Galloway)

Although the motion mentions Dumfries and Galloway Tourist Board specifically, I hope that David Mundell and the minister will recognise that the issue that we are debating is also relevant to the funding of Scottish Borders Tourist Board.The minister will recall that I contac...

Ian Jenkins (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): LD Chamber

08 Jan 2003

Local Government in Scotland Bill: Stage 3

I speak as the deputy convener of the Subordinate Legislation Committee. I am not sure whether I am technically allowed to speak on this particular point.The Subordinate Legislation Committee considered at its previous two meetings the provision at section 25H for imposition o...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

27 May 2002

Executive Responses

We made a substantial number of points on the order. I do not think that we need to go through the Executive's responses in detail because the Executive has laid an instrument that overtakes the original order. We will deal with that instrument later in the meeting. The Execut...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

26 Nov 2002

Delegated Powers Scrutiny

The Executive should reconsider the drafting to make the position clear, as the meaning is slightly hazy at the moment. Although the Executive has given us an explanation, section 31(5) may not be clear to people who read the bill without having heard our deliberations or seen...

The Deputy Convener: LD Committee

17 Dec 2002

Delegated Powers Scrutiny

Thanks, Margo.Section 25H relates to the imposition of capital expenditure limits. The provision allows the Scottish ministers to set by order the maximum amounts that local authorities in general may allocate to capital expenditure. Section 25H also allows ministers to set by...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

21 Jan 2003

Delegated Powers Scrutiny

We were worried about its accuracy. The Executive has now supplied the missing information and we accept that the matters concerned are appropriate for delegated legislation. The Executive has moved forward on the matter. We welcome the Executive's positive response: it agrees...

Ian Jenkins: LD Chamber

10 Jan 2001

Teachers' Pay and Conditions

No, as I am not in the Executive, although I am a member of an Executive party. Mr McConnell was right when he said that this is not a straightforward pay deal—it is the start of a modernisation process that will not be delivered overnight. The process is more long term than t...

Ian Jenkins: LD Committee

18 Sep 2001

Subordinate Legislation

In the Subordinate Legislation Committee, there was comment on the breach of the 21-day rule, which states that, after an instrument is laid, there should be a 21-day period before it takes effect. The fact that that did not happen in this case is drawn to our attention. It is...