Legacy report of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, Session 6

The Committee recognises the strong working relationships among members this session, focused on the Committee’s technical and legal scrutiny, and recommends that its successor committee aims to achieve a similar dynamic.

The Committee has found its sessions with the Minister for Parliamentary Business, complemented with additional reports, an effective way to achieve its role in providing oversight in relation to the overall quality of subordinate legislation.

The successor committee may wish to consider a reporting pattern which is more closely aligned to the biannual sessions with the Minister for Parliamentary Business, such as producing two biannual reports, which look at the quality of instruments over six months. These could then be discussed with the Minister for Parliamentary Business.

The Committee is broadly content with processes in place for scrutiny of delegated powers in Bills at Stages 1 and 2 (notwithstanding concerns over timetables in some instances), and suggests that its successor committee adopts similar approaches.

The Committee also highlights its approach to considering delegated powers in Bills, which has also largely focused on technical and legal aspects. The Committee considers that this approach has allowed it to obtain a number of positive changes to Bills over the Session, and suggests that its successor committee may wish to similarly aim to keep the focus on technical and legal questions.

In light of the Committee’s general position that the Scottish Parliament should have the opportunity to effectively scrutinise the exercise of all legislative powers within devolved competence, the Committee agrees that the new SI protocol outlined at paragraph 43 above will facilitate effective and proportionate scrutiny of all UK SIs made within devolved competence. The Committee recommends that the revised protocol comes into effect at the start of Session 7.

The Committee also highlights to its successor committee that timetabling is often a problem for consideration of LCMs, and suggests it may wish to continue to press for time to be allowed for proper scrutiny wherever possible.

The Committee suggests that its successor committee may wish to encourage the next Scottish Government to continue its work on SLC reports and to consider introducing Bills which may meet the criteria to be scrutinised by the DPLR Committee, and maintain a positive working relationship with the SLC.

In relation to this work, the Committee also suggests that its successor committee seeks to engage with the Scottish Government and the SLC to discuss which areas are being prioritised for further work by the Scottish Government in the next Session.

The Committee also suggests that its successor committee may wish to look further at the issue of section 104 Orders, including what might be done to expedite the timescales which typically elapse between a Bill being passed and the related section 104 Order being brought forward. Accordingly, the Committee suggests that its successor committee may wish to consider a short inquiry into this issue.

The Committee highlights these self-initiated inquiries to its successor committee, in particular their outputs (the process for expediting certain affirmative instruments and guidance document on framework legislation and Henry VIII powers). It recommends the successor committee retains the guidance as its own, to assist with scrutiny of framework legislation.

The Committee further highlights the benefit it found in engaging with parliamentary counterparts and stakeholders in relation to these inquiries, and encourages its successor committee to seek out similar opportunities.

The Committee suggests that its successor committee considers continuing a regular newsletter as a way to communicate its work to an external audience.