Clause 8 - Scotland
Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill
12:00 pm
Mark Harper (Shadow Minister, Defence; Forest of Dean, Conservative)
The clause generally precludes the possibility of making orders under the Bill that fall within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, apart from those made under clause 2(4), which will be orders that
“make such consequential, supplementary, incidental or transitional provision ... as the Minister making it considers appropriate.”
To what extent does the Minister feel that the Sewel convention, with which I am sure he is familiar, should relate to orders under clause 2(4)?
For those who are not familiar with it, the Sewel convention effectively says that the Westminster Parliament will not legislate on matters devolved to the Scottish Parliament, even where it has the power to do so, unless the Scottish Parliament gives its consent. It is an agreement not between Parliaments but between the Scottish Executive and the UK Government, but it has typically been held to. Does the Minister propose that it should apply under section 2(4)? If not, what are his reasons? The Sewel convention is not set out in statute, but will he set out why he feels that it does not apply under clause 2(4)?