Social Justice and Social Security Committee

Meeting date: Thursday, November 24, 2022

Official Report 535KB pdf

Subordinate Legislation

Scottish Child Payment (Ancillary Provision) Regulations 2022 (SSI 2022/326)

Agenda item 2 is consideration of a statutory instrument subject to the negative procedure. This is the second additional instrument that has been laid by the Scottish Government in connection with amendments made by the Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendment and Transitional Provision) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 to the Scottish Child Payment Regulations 2020, which came into force on 14 November 2022—that was a tongue-twister.?

Two weeks ago, the committee considered an instrument setting savings provision. The regulations under consideration today also breach the 28-day rule, but the Scottish Government has written to the committee to explain that it needed to break the rule to ensure that the required provisions could come into force at the same time as the substantive provisions.

Are members content to note the instrument?

I wonder why this has happened twice, now, in relation to these regulations. I know that it is important that we make the changes to the Scottish child payment, but this has been quite a long time in coming and the Government has still had to break the rules to do it. I just wanted to put that on the record. Should we write to the minister and ask whether things could be planned a bit further in advance in the future? Continually breaking the rules is not a good way of doing business.

I was going to make the same point, but perhaps I can answer Pam Duncan-Glancy’s question myself.

I happen to sit on the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, which met on Tuesday to discuss the regulations. We, too, had quite a lot of concerns about this being the second additional instrument laid under the initial regulations, so we have written to ask the Scottish Government for an explanation and I have asked for that response to be shared with this committee. As a result, we might not, on this occasion, have to write separately. Once the DPLR Committee receives a response, we can respond to it, if that is helpful, convener.

Absolutely. The concerns have been noted and, if the committee is happy to do so, we will hold off writing to the Government at this time and wait for a response from the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.

Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.