 I welcome members to the 34th meeting in 2014 of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee. As always, I ask members to switch off mobile phones, please. Agender item 1 is a declaration of interests, and I welcome John Mason to the committee. I invite him in accordance with section 3 of the code of conduct to declare any relevant interests. Please, John. I'm very happy to join the committee, and I do not think that there's anything particularly I need to mention at this stage. Indeed. Thank you. I'm sure that members would want to join with me in noting Mike Mackenzie's elevation too high, I think, whichever committee he's gone to. I'm sorry, I can't remember. I'm sure that we have enjoyed our time with Mike on this committee. He's certainly made a contribution, and I have to recognise his very interesting contribution to the debate last week on the legal writing spell, which I think it would be fair to say that we all enjoyed. Agender item 2 is a decision on taking business in private. We're proposing to take items 9 and 10 in private. Item 9 is consideration of a draft report on the serious crime bill, which is UK Parliament legislation, and item 10 is consideration of a draft report on the Prisoners' Control of Release Scotland Bill. Does the committee agree to take items 9 and 10 in private, please? Agender item 3 is an instrument subject to affirmative procedure. No points have been raised by our legal advisers on the public services reform, inspection and monitoring of prisons Scotland Order 2014 draft. The committee may wish to note, however, that this is an amended version of the draft order that is laid to address concern raised by the committee's legal advisers. Is the committee content with this instrument? Agender item 4, instruments subject to negative procedure. The marriage between persons of different sexes prescribed bodies Scotland regulations 2014, SSI 2014, 304. Regulation 2 states that the bodies prescribed for the purposes of 8.1.a.2 of the Marriage Scotland Act 1979 are listed in the schedule, which omits section. Does the committee therefore agree to draw the regulations to the attention of the Parliament on the general reporting ground as they contain a minor drafting error? Does the committee agree to note, however, that a minor error will be corrected when the regulations are next amended for another reason? The Food Information Scotland Regulation is 2014, SSI 2014, 3.1.2. It has been suggested that the meaning of this instrument could be clearer. Firstly, the formal meaning of regulation 5.5 could be clearer. It does not clearly give effect to the policy intention that the provisions of the regulation to supply whether relevant ingredient or processing aid is itself a substance or product listed in a next 2 of EU regulation 1169-2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. Secondly, the formal meaning of paragraph 2A3 of schedule 5 to the instrument could be clearer. That paragraph substitutes the text B, an indication of its maximum alcoholic strength in a required form 1, 2 or 3 in column 2 of the entry relating to the description of low alcohol in part 1 to schedule 8 to the Food Labelling Regulations 1996. The text, which should be substituted, is B, the drink that is marked to a label with an indication of its maximum alcoholic strength in required form 1, 2 or 3. Accordingly, paragraph 2A3 of schedule 5 does not clearly give effect to the policy intention. Does the committee therefore agree to draw the instrument to the Parliament's attention on reporting ground H as its meaning could be clearer? There is a wider issue in terms of clarity. In other respects, it is likely that the instrument is legally clear. Like many of those complicated amendments, it is likely to be practically unclear. I specifically look at schedule 5, which starts on page 22 and continues to page 29. It amends—I have not counted them—and it must be over a dozen other pieces of secondary legislation. The secondary legislation that it is amending will, I am sure, include secondary legislation, which has been amending many times. There is a genuine practical difficulty in establishing the current state of, let's just choose one at random, the food lot marking regulations 1996, now nearly 20 years old. It has been amending many times. Of course, secondary legislation, unlike primary legislation, when it is published on the legislation.gov.uk website, is not updated as amendments are put through, so there is nowhere that the member of public or even someone in the industry can go and see what the current regulations look like. I would like to suggest that the Government considers one of a range of options, first of all, perhaps consolidation of much amended secondary legislation. It is published in total so that one starts afresh with something that has the whole regulation. That would be one option. It considers whether the process by which primary legislation is updated as amendments are made on legislation.gov.uk should apply to secondary legislation or, perhaps alternatively, at least in the legislation.gov.uk. There was a list of the instruments that amend the instruments, even if there is no consolidated list. If you were to try and find out all the amendment that is being made to, and I just picked one piece of legislation at random, you would be looking through 20 years worth of legislation to try and find the amendments. The odds are that you would miss one. I think that it is an unsatisfactory way in which to deal with what are quite complex pieces of secondary legislation. I just back Stuart up on what he said. I have been highlighted to me by people from the food industry that there are concerns that, because of the obscure nature of this, many people in the industry will not be very aware of what is going on here at all. I am not certain whose gift it is to publicise this better, but I think that these are possibly quite far-reaching amendments and yet many of the industry bodies are not entirely aware of them. Thank you for those comments and I take you at the rest of the committee. We will be in agreement with them. This instrument contains some minor drafting errors. Firstly, regulation 2.3 provides that a reference to certain EU provisions in a regulation listed in paragraph 4 is a reference to that EU provision as amended from time to time. It should instead provide that a reference to an EU provision in a provision in the regulations listed in paragraph 4 is a reference to that EU provision as amended from time to time. Secondly, in part 1 of schedule 3 to the instrument in the entry relating two quotes, article 18.1, list of ingredients, closed quotes. The reference in column 2, two quotes, regulation, open bracket, eight, closed bracket, closed quotes, should be two quotes, regulation, eight, closed quotes, brackets, with no brackets, closed brackets. Thirdly, part 1 of the schedule to the instrument purports to revoke certain provisions of the miscellaneous food additives amendment regulations 1999. Those regulations were however revoked in full in 2013 insofar as they extend to Scotland and accordingly the purported revocation is of no effect. Finally, paragraph 15b of the schedule 5 to the instrument inserts a definition of regulation 1169-2011 in the natural mineral water, spring water and bottle drinking water Scotland number 2 regulations 2007. This definition is however unnecessary as regulation 1169-2011 is not referred to in these regulations. Does the committee therefore agree to draw the instrument to the Parliament's attention under the general reporting ground as it contains minor drafting errors? Does the committee agree to note however that the Scottish Government is undertaken to amend all the errors in regulation 23 at the first appropriate opportunity? Given that Scottish Government accepts that including references to the schedules of the instruments as well as to the regulations would have made the intention of regulation 23 of the instrument clearer, does the committee agree to suggest that the Scottish Government may wish to take the same opportunity to amend the remaining error? No points have been raised by our legal advisers Children and Young People Scotland Act 2014 and Salary Provision number 2, order 2014, SSI 2014 315. Nor the smoke control areas exempted fireplaces Scotland order 2014, SSI 2014 316. Nor the smoke control areas authorised fuels Scotland regulations 2014, SSI 2014 317. Nor on the education disuplication of section 53B Scotland regulations 2014, SSI 2014 318. Nor on the environmental regulation relevant defences Scotland order 2014, SSI 2014 319. Nor on the controlled waste fixed penalty notices Scotland order 2014, SSI 2014 320. Nor the litter fixed penalty notices Scotland order 2014, SSI 2014 321. Nor on the environmental regulation liability where activity carried out by arrangement with another, Scotland order 2014, SSI 2014 323. Nor on the environmental regulation significant environmental harm Scotland order 2014, SSI 2014 324. Nor on the common agricultural policy cross compliance Scotland regulations 2014, SSI 2014 325. Nor lastly on the public bodies joint working content of performance reports Scotland regulations 2014, SSI 2014 326. Is the committee content with these instruments please? Thank you. Agenda item 5 instruments not subject to any parliamentary procedure. No points have been raised by illegal advisers on the Children and Young People Scotland Act 2014 commencement number 4, order 2014, SSI 2014 314. Is the committee content with that instrument please? Agenda item 6, welfare funds Scotland bill. This item of business is consideration of the Scottish Government's response to the committee's stage 1 report on the welfare funds Scotland bill. Members have seen the briefing paper and the response from the Scottish Government. Do members have any comments please? Are we therefore content to note the response and if necessary reconsider the bill after stage 2? Agenda item 7 is the Food Scotland bill and this item is consideration of the delegated powers provisions in this bill after stage 2. Members will have noted that the Scottish Government has provided a supplementary delegated powers memorandum and will have seen the briefing paper. Stage 3, consideration of the bill is due to take place on Tuesday 9 December. That is next week. The committee should therefore agree its conclusions today. The committee may note that the power in section 483, as amended, prevents the amendment of sections 37 and 44 in a way that removes the discharge of criminal liability provided for by these sections but only in circumstances where an individual has been served with both a compliance notice and a fixed penalty notice and has complied with both. The committee may consider that the power as amended leaves open the possibility that the power in section 483 could still be used to remove the discharge of criminal liability in sections 37 or 44 in circumstances where a person has been issued with only one administrative sanction. The committee way wished to call on the Scottish Government to consider a further amendment to the bill at stage 3 so as to remove that liability. Does the committee agree to accordingly draw the provision of section 483 as amended at stage 2 to the attention of Parliament? Does the committee agree to report it? It is content with the other provisions in the bill that have been amended at stage 2 to insert or substantially alter provisions conferring powers to make subordinate legislation and other delegated powers. Which brings us to agenda item 8, which is the modern slavery bill, which of course is UK Parliament legislation. Under this item, the committee is invited to consider the powers to make subordinate legislation conferred on the Scottish ministers in this bill. Briefing paper has been provided. It sets out the round aspects of the bill and comments on their effect. Does the committee agree to report to the lead committee that it is content with the delegated powers conferred on the Scottish ministers in the bill and with the procedure to which they are subject? Thank you. Which completes item 8 and I move this meeting into private, please.