Agenda item 10 is consideration of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, which is also UK Parliament legislation. It confers powers to make subordinate legislation on the Scottish ministers.
A briefing paper has been provided, which suggests that the committee could seek a written explanation of matters relating to clauses 149 to 151 of the bill and on a proposed new clause. The committee would consider the response at next week’s meeting, with the intention of agreeing a draft report.
Clauses 149 to 151 and a proposed new clause will provide the Treasury and the Scottish ministers with powers to make regulations that would require a public sector employee or office-holder who received an exit payment as a result of leaving work or the relevant office to return the payment or a proportion of it. That would apply when they returned to be an employee or contractor of a public sector authority as prescribed in the regulations, or a holder of a public sector office so prescribed.
Those regulations would have significance. For example, they would prescribe the public sector authorities and office-holders in respect of which they would apply, which exit payments would be within the scope of the repayment requirements and which exemptions from the requirements would be available.
Does the committee agree to ask the Scottish Government why it has been considered appropriate that regulations that are made by the Scottish ministers under clause 149 of the bill should be subject to scrutiny by the Parliament under the negative rather than the affirmative procedure?