Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 11:43 am on 2 November 2006.

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Photo of Lord Goodhart Lord Goodhart Spokesperson in the Lords (Shadow Lord Chancellor), Constitutional Affairs, Advisory Team On Legal Matters, Cross-Portfolio and Non-Portfolio Responsibilities 11:43, 2 November 2006

My Lords, Amendment No. 2 proposes that the Scotland Act be added to Clause 8, to join the Bill and the Human Rights Act as statutes that cannot be altered by an order made under the Bill. I moved, and we debated, a similar amendment on Report. At that time I understood from colleagues who are Members of the Scottish Parliament that the Scottish Government had indicated to them that any changes to the Scotland Act would be regarded as matters of constitutional significance, and so would not satisfy the new condition at Clause 3(2)(f). I was therefore expecting a statement to that effect from the Minister. What he in fact said was different:

"The Government are content that the new precondition would prevent any constitutionally significant amendments to the Scotland Act and the Government of Wales Acts, just as it would prevent constitutionally significant amendments to any other enactment".—[Hansard, 26/10/2006; col. 1305.]

In other words, there is no special treatment for the Scotland Act, which is treated for the purposes of this Bill exactly like all other statutes, other than the two specifically mentioned in Clause 8.

As I said then, I recognise that there are some provisions in the Scotland Act where the changes would not in themselves be constitutionally significant. I also believe, however, that constitutional significance arises not just from the nature of the changes proposed by the order, but by the fact that the Scotland Act governs the relationship between two Governments and two Parliaments; that is, of course, the Governments and Parliaments of the United Kingdom and of Scotland. The Scotland Act is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament, but for that reason, because it lays down the details of the division of responsibilities between the two Parliaments, I believe that any change to the Scotland Act, even if minor in itself, is of constitutional significance and should be dealt with by primary legislation.

The Minister said that he would reflect on this matter. I hope his reflections have borne fruit—if indeed a reflection can bear fruit. I beg to move.