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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 11 January 2025
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Displaying 1830 contributions

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Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

It is just that when a certain practice becomes common, it can be an easy, go-to way of working. I am looking for an assurance that the Government still regards the made affirmative procedure as a rare way of bringing regulations into being.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

Ah, right. People would probably find that very useful. What does the volume of SSIs look like between now and the end of the year?

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

Of course, we would allow for the margin of human error that you describe, and I applaud you for quoting Harold Macmillan.

However, for the benefit of the subject committees, would it be possible to provide greater detail on where those SSIs fall?

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

Something that you have touched on and which I—and, I am sure, other committee members—would agree with is having an adequate opportunity for advance scrutiny. Indeed, the theme has come up time and again this morning in relation to matters general and across the board, not just specifically on UK ministers having powers to legislate in devolved areas.

I will just leave it at that, convener.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

It is being written down by my colleague, too.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

At one time, the made affirmative procedure was a rare occurrence in the Parliament. Obviously, during the pandemic, it has been used much more frequently to bring regulations into being. What is the Government’s position on the use of that procedure? What is the current thinking on when and how it should be used, if ever?

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

Yes, we are all for plain English, that is for sure.

Of course, I was not a member during the last parliamentary session but, in session 5, your predecessor habitually and rather helpfully wrote to subject committees to indicate the volume of SSIs that they could anticipate heading in that committee’s direction. However, that practice appears to have ended. What was the reason for the discontinuation of that practice? Is it something that could be revived?

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

Some months ago, perhaps at the beginning of the parliamentary session, you produced a very colourful table, which indicated the number of SSIs. I remember it vividly.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

As you know, the committee has a long-standing interest in the scrutiny of bills that confer powers in devolved areas on UK ministers, and in the scrutiny of the exercise of those powers, so it would be informative to understand what considerations inform decisions by the Scottish ministers to recommend consent for UK bills that confer delegated powers in devolved areas on UK ministers.

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Minister for Parliamentary Business

Meeting date: 21 June 2022

Stephen Kerr

I presume that the Scottish ministers have a template for the sort of questions that you have alluded to. Can you give us more detail on what such considerations are about? When a bill is introduced in the UK Parliament that confers delegated powers in devolved areas on UK ministers, is there a checklist—a set of criteria or questions—to which you refer in looking to see whether, ultimately, you can recommend a legislative consent motion to the Scottish Parliament for that piece of legislation? Could you talk us through that in a bit more detail?