Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid)

Meeting date: Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Official Report 1011KB pdf

Committee Announcement (Made Affirmative Procedure)

The next item of business is an announcement by the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, on an inquiry into the use of the made affirmative procedure during the coronavirus pandemic. I call Stuart McMillan, convener of the committee, to make the announcement.

Last November, I spoke in the chamber to highlight the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee’s inquiry into the use of the made affirmative procedure during the pandemic. Today, the committee finalised its report, which will be published this week.

As members know, many of the public health measures that have been brought in to try to protect the people of Scotland from the full impact of the coronavirus were made using secondary legislation. The majority of those measures have been brought into law using the made affirmative procedure, which allows the Scottish Government to bring changes into force immediately. Although Parliament needs to approve the changes within 28 days for the regulations to stay in force, the law will often have been altered weeks before it does that.

Prior to the pandemic, use of the made affirmative procedure for laying Scottish statutory instruments was relatively rare, with perhaps one being laid a year. Since March 2020, we have considered more than 140.

As I said last November, the committee has recognised that the use of the procedure has allowed the Government to respond quickly to challenges presented by the coronavirus. However, the purpose of the inquiry was to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between flexibility for the Government in responding to an emergency and appropriate parliamentary scrutiny and oversight.

Although I cannot yet go into specifics of the committee’s report, the recommendations will help form the basis of the committee’s—and, I hope, the Parliament’s—future scrutiny of both made affirmative instruments and proposed primary legislation that includes powers to lay such instruments. That will help to ensure that the made affirmative procedure continues to be used appropriately and only when necessary.

The report will be published on Thursday, and there will be an opportunity for all members to discuss its recommendations in our committee debate in the chamber on Tuesday 22 February. I look forward to hearing from colleagues then.