 I welcome members to the 22nd meeting in 2015 of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee. I ask members to switch off mobile devices, please. Agender item 1 is a decision on taking business in private. It's proposed that we take item 6 in private. This will allow the committee to consider its approach to the scrutiny of the succession Scotland Bill at stage 1 in the event that the bill is formally referred to the committee by the Parliament later this week. Does the committee agree to take this item in private, please? Yes. Thank you. Agender item 2, instrument subject to affirmative procedure. No points have been raised by our legal advisers on the legal aid and advice assistance miscellaneous amendments Scotland regulations 2015 draft, nor on the Courts Reform Scotland Act 2014, consequential provisions number 2, order 2015 draft. Is the committee content with these instruments, please? Yes. Keep. Agender item 3 then is instrument subject to negative procedure. The Scheduled Monuments Appeals Scotland Regulations 2015, SSI 2015, 231. Our legal advisers have identified three minor drafting errors with this instrument. These errors are firstly that regulation 6.4 contains an incorrect cross-reference to paragraph 4 of regulation 6. This should instead be a reference to paragraph 3 of regulation 6. Secondly that regulation 16.4C refers to documents which were sent with the planning authorities response. This should instead refer to documents which were sent with Historic Environment Scotland's response. And thirdly that regulation 17.1 contains an incorrect cross-reference to regulation 15. This should instead be a reference to regulation 16. Scottish Government intends to bring forward an amending instrument to correct these errors. Does the committee agree to draw this instrument to the attention of the Parliament on the general reporting ground as it contains minor drafting errors? Yes. I would also welcome the fact that the Government is going to bring forward an amending instrument. Thank you. The planning listed building consent and conservation area consent procedure Scotland Regulations 2015, SSI 2015, 243. This instrument also contains a drafting error. Regulation 19.1 provides that subject to paragraph 2. The provisions specified in paragraph 2 are revoked. The first reference to paragraph 2 should be to paragraph 3. Scottish Government agrees that this is an error, but does not plan to amend the regulations at this time? Does the committee agree to draw this instrument to the attention of the Parliament on the general reporting ground as it contains a drafting error? Yes. Does the committee also agree to call on the Scottish Government to amend this error at a suitable opportunity in the future? Yes. Thank you. St Mary's Music School, AD places Scotland Regulations 2015, SSI 2015, 248. This instrument has breached the 28-day rule. It was laid before Parliament on 5 June 2015 and will come into force on 1 August, meaning that the requirements leave a minimum of 28 days discounting recess periods between laying and coming into force has not been complied with. Does the committee agree to draw the instrument to the attention of the Parliament on reporting ground J as there has been a failure to observe the requirements of section 28.2 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform Act 2010? Yes. Does the committee agree to accept the Scottish Government's explanation as to why the instrument could not have been laid earlier than on 5 June and to agree to accept the explanation as to why the commencement date on 1 August was chosen in light of the start of the academic year? Yes. No points have been raised by our legal advisers on the schedule, monuments, notifications and publications Scotland Regulations 2015, SSI 2015, 230. Nor on the schedule, monuments, determination of appeals by appointed persons to prescribed classes Scotland Regulations 2015, SSI 2015, 232. Nor on the Townland Country Planning Miscellaneous Amendment Scotland Regulations 2015, SSI 2015, 249. Is the committee content with these, please? Yes. Thank you. Gender item 4, instruments not subject to any parliamentary procedure. The act of Soderent Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and Sheriff Court rules amendment number 2, Personal Injury and Remits 2015, SSI 2015, 227. This instrument contains a minor drafting error. Paragraph 8.5 inserts a new chapter 15A of the rules of court of session 1994, motions intimated and lodged by email. Rule 15A has two paragraphs, both numbered 2. The Lord President's private office has undertaken to lay an amending instrument to correct this error. Does the committee agree to draw this instrument to the attention of the Parliament on the general reporting ground as it contains a minor drafting error? Yes. The act of Soderent Rules of the Court of Session 1994 amendment number 3, Courts Reform Scotland Act 2014, 2015, SSI 2015, 228. This instrument contains two minor drafting errors. Firstly, there is an error in the new rule 5815 of the rules of court of session 1994, which is inserted by paragraph 3.3 of the instrument. Paragraph numbering within the rule is 145. Secondly, in the form of petition for judicial review in schedule 1, the heading with the new numbering of form 583 is omitted. The new rule 5833 refers to a petition for judicial review to be made in form 583, but the form in schedule 1 is not so numbered. The Lord President's private office has undertaken to lay an amending instrument to correct these errors, and an error identified in the aforementioned rules of the court of session number 2, personal injury remits above. The amendment is intended to come into force on 22 September as this is the commencement date of the instrument. Does the committee agree to draw this instrument to the attention of the Parliament as it contains a couple of minor drafting errors? Yes. No points have been raised by illegal advisers on the act of Soderent Rules of the Court of Session 1994 and fees of solicitors in the Sheriff Court amendment. Courts Reform Scotland Act 2014-2015, SSI 2015-246. Nor on the Courts Reform Scotland Act 2014, commencement number 3, transitional and saving provisions Order 2015, SSI 2015-247. Is the committee content with those, please? Yes. Thank you. Agender item number 5, the Prisoners' Control of Release Scotland Bill. This item of business is for the committee to consider the delegated powers provisions in the bill as amended at stage 2. Committee's conclusions will form the basis of a report ahead of today's schedule 3 debate. The committee therefore needs to draw its conclusions now. Members will have seen the Scottish Government has provided a supplementary delegated powers memorandum and will have seen the briefing paper for the committee. As you will recall at stage 1, the bill of the bill, the committee was particularly concerned about the fact that transitional, transitory and saving provisions may be required in a commencement order subject to no procedure under the bill. As the use of these provisions could be potentially significantly effected, sorry, could have potentially a significant effect on certain persons affected by the bill, such as long-term prisoners. The ability to make transitional, transitory and saving provision at stage 2 has been removed from the bill. Instead, the saving provision required in relation to automatic early release of certain prisoners has been put on the face of the bill. The commencement provisions also introduce a limited delegated power in section 3.4 beyond the power to commence sections 1 and 2 of the bill by order in the usual way. The new section 3.4 of the bill allows the commencement order to amend section 1.1a of the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings Scotland Act 1993. New section 1.1a is inserted by section 1.2 of the bill to provide the saving provision which defines which long-term prisoners the new early release rules do and do not apply to. The new rules only apply in cases of prisoners serving sentences opposed on or after the day that section 1 of the bill comes into force. Accordingly, once a commencement order has been made, anyone reading the amended version of section 1.1a will be able to see immediately whether the new or old early release rules apply to a prisoner sentenced on a particular day. A commencement order would be laid before Parliament, but not subject to further procedure. Is the committee content with commencement orders, powers and section 3 as amended at stage 2 and that a commencement order would be laid before Parliament but not subject to further procedure? Yes. Does the committee agree to welcome the amendments made to sections 1 and 3 of the bill as these have taken into account the committee's recommendation at stage 1 to enhance parliamentary scrutiny on the provisions? Yes. With that, I move the meeting into private for item 6. Thank you.