10.12.2009
The Scottish Parliament’s Subordinate Legislation Committee has given a cautious welcome to the terms of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Bill.
The Bill deals mainly with technical procedural matters concerning the making and interpretation of Acts of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish statutory instruments.
Committee Convener Jamie Stone MSP said: “This is an important and timely piece of legislation which will modernise the law under which future Scottish legislation is prepared and implemented.
"As we mark the tenth anniversary of devolution, it is appropriate that the Scottish Parliament takes ownership of procedures which until now were regulated by rules made under the Scotland Act.
"The Committee supports the general principles of the Bill but has asked the Scottish Government to look again at a number of issues of detail in order to ensure that the proposals will work well in practice.”
The issues raised by the committee include:
- the test of necessity for bringing into force changes to the law earlier than 28 days should be reinstated
- Part 4 of the Bill should be amended to remove the power for Scottish Ministers to make changes to the law by subordinate legislation prior to its consolidation.
Background
The Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 15 June 2009 and referred to the Subordinate Legislation Committee.
The Committee received written and oral evidence from a number of sources all of which can be found on the committee's Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Bill web page.
The Stage 1 debate on the Bill is scheduled to take place in January.