Chamber and committees

Under agenda item 3, we are considering seven instruments that are subject to the negative procedure.

Issues have been raised in relation to five of the instruments for failure to lay them in accordance with the requirements under section 28(2) of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. The 2010 act requires that instruments that are subject to the negative procedure be laid at least 28 days before they come into force, not counting recess periods of more than four days.

The following four instruments that are in breach of the 28-day rule are laid under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013.

The instrument relates to orders to preserve evidence. When the United Kingdom was a member of the EU, an EU Council framework decision established the rules under which EU member states would recognise and execute in their territory a freezing order issued by a judicial authority of another member state in the context of criminal proceedings.

The instrument has been laid under the negative procedure and is considered by the Scottish Government to be of low significance.

Is the committee content that the appropriate scrutiny procedure and categorisation have been applied to this instrument?

Members indicated agreement.

Under agenda item 2, we are considering five instruments subject to the affirmative procedure. There was a late change to our agenda due to the following Scottish statutory instrument being laid by the Scottish Government yesterday.

The Department for Work and Pensions intends to make emergency legislation shortly that will remove certain residence-based qualifying conditions to allow individuals who come from Ukraine to the United Kingdom to access the benefits system immediately on arrival in the UK. The SSI has been laid to ensure parity of access for Ukraine citizens in Scotland to benefits for which the Scottish ministers have responsibility. The Scottish Government is therefore seeking to have the changes come into force today.

Although the committee needs sufficient time to properly consider each and every SSI that is laid before the Parliament to make sure that it is correct as a matter of law, given the obvious immediacy here, I have allowed the SSI to be added to today’s agenda. I nevertheless reserve the right for the committee to look at the instrument again next week should any issues subsequently be found. We could then write to the Scottish Government to highlight those issues.

Taking all that into account, is the committee content with the regulations?

Members indicated agreement.

Also under this agenda item, no points have been raised on the following instrument.

Under agenda item 3, we are considering two instruments subject to the negative procedure. An issue has been raised on the following instrument.

Under agenda item 4, we are considering three instruments not subject to any parliamentary procedure, on which no points have been raised.

Welcome to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee’s 10th meeting in 2022. Before we move to the first item on the agenda, I remind everyone present to switch their mobile phones to silent.

The first item of business is a decision on whether to take items 5 and 6 in private. Is the committee content to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Also under this agenda item, no points have been raised on the following draft instruments.

Is the committee content with the instruments?

Members indicated agreement.