Chamber and committees

Does the committee also wish to call on the Scottish Government to clarify the matter at the next legislative opportunity?

Members indicated agreement.

The instrument amends definitions, references and expressions related to European Union law in the Storage of Carbon Dioxide (Licensing etc) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 that require updating or correction following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU. The amendments are minor and technical in nature.

The committee wrote to the Scottish Government to ask whether regulation 8 of the instrument contained an error in respect of references to certain EU law applying, as they had effect immediately before the implementation period completion day. The Scottish Government, in its response, said that it was grateful to the committee for highlighting the error and that SSI 2021/383, which the committee is also considering under this agenda item, has since been laid to correct that. The correcting instrument will come into force on Tuesday 30 November, which is a day before the provision containing the error will come into force.

Full details of the error in regulation 8 can be found in the correspondence between the committee and the Scottish Government. The correspondence is included in paper 4 for the meeting, which can be found in the agenda on the committee’s website.

Does the committee wish to draw the instrument to the attention of the Parliament on reporting ground (h), on the basis that the meaning of regulation 8, as outlined in correspondence with the Scottish Government, could be clearer?

Members indicated agreement.

Does the committee also wish to welcome that the Scottish Government has acknowledged that this was a drafting error and that a correcting instrument has been laid that will correct the error before it would have come into force?

Members indicated agreement.

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

Is the committee content with the instruments?

Members indicated agreement.

Under agenda item 3, we are considering a further instrument laid under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. In this case, the committee is considering whether the appropriate category has been applied to the draft regulations. The instrument has been categorised by the Scottish Government as being of medium significance. Is the committee content that the SSI has been categorised properly?

Members indicated agreement.

Under agenda item 4, we are considering three made affirmative instruments. An issue has been raised on the following instrument.

Both instruments have been laid under the negative procedure and are considered by the Scottish Government to be of low significance. Is the committee content that the appropriate scrutiny procedure has been applied to the instruments and that the SSIs are of low significance?

Members indicated agreement.

Welcome to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee’s ninth meeting in session 6. Before we move to the first item on the agenda, I remind everyone present to switch their mobile phones to silent.

As we are meeting both in the Parliament and online, I appreciate that it will be more challenging for members appearing online to indicate agreement to the items being discussed. I therefore ask members who are appearing on BlueJeans to raise their hand if they are not content when questions are put.

The first item of business is to decide whether to take items 8 and 9 in private. Is the committee content to take those items in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Under agenda item 2, we are considering two instruments laid under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. The committee is considering whether the appropriate scrutiny procedure and the appropriate category have been applied to the following Scottish statutory instruments.