The Scottish Parliament and law making

2.3 The UK Parliament and Scotland

The UK Parliament has the power to legislate on reserved matters and on devolved matters where a legislative consent motion has been passed by the Scottish Parliament. Activity 1 now asks you to explore Acts of the UK Parliament and their relevance to Scotland.

Activity 1 Exploring Acts of the UK Parliament

Allow about 10 minutes

Take a few moments to consider the Acts listed below. These Acts were some of the final Bills to receive Royal Assent before the dissolution of the UK Parliament on 3 May 2017 prior to the general election on 8 June 2017. Having read through the list, and based on the titles of the Act and your knowledge of matters which are devolved and reserved, indicate whether or not you think the Act covers Scotland.

The Broadcasting (Radio Multiplex Services) Act 2017 Yes No Not sure
The Bus Services Act 2017
Children and Social Work Act 2017
Criminal Finances Act 2017  
Farriers (Registration) Act 2017
Finance Act 2017
Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017
Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Act 2017    
Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017
Local Audit (Public Access to documents) Act 2017
Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017
National Citizen Service Act 2017  
Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017
Northern Ireland (Ministerial Appointments and Regional Rates) Act 2017
Parking Places (Variation of Charges) Act 2017
Pension Schemes Act 2017
Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017

Comment

The purpose of this activity was to get you to reflect on the which matters the UK Parliament may legislate for Scotland, whether these be as a result of reserved powers, such as international relations, or where there have been legislative consent motions.

Figures 10, 11 and 12 have been provided to show you where the information that appears in these comments for each Act was found. Legislation.gov.uk does, on occasion, change but the screen shots are of the following: Figure 9 is of the legislation.gov.uk home page. On this page Scotland was selected which lead to the screen shot in Figure 10. Then by clicking on UK Public Acts the screen shot in Figure 11 appeared. Each Act was selected and then the extent Section was read to locate the answers given below. Your studies in subsequent weeks will familiarise you with the look and layout of Acts.

Figure 10 The official home of UK legislation
Figure 11 Selecting the Scotland tab on the home page leads to this and then selecting UK Public General Acts
Figure 12 Selecting UK Public General Acts from the Scotland page

A number of the Acts had an impact on the law in Scotland.

Three of the Bills which you saw in Figure 8 earlier and which had received Royal Assent were not shown on legislation.gov.uk at the time of search 7 May 2017. These were the Digital Economy Bill, the Higher Education and Research Bill and the Haversham Oyster Fishery Company Bill.

  • The Broadcasting (Radio Multiplex Services) Act 2017. Section 2 (1) states that it applies to (extends to) all of the UK.
  • The Bus Services Act 2017 Section 25 states that only certain provisions apply in Scotland (sections 17 and 23 to 27).
  • Children and Social Work Act 2017 states that section 10 and certain paragraphs in Schedule 1 apply to England, Wales and Scotland.
  • Criminal Finances Act 2017 Section 57 states that certain provisions apply UK-wide and certain provisions only apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland or England and Wales.
  • Farriers (Registration) Act 2017 Section 3(1) states that the Act applies in England, Wales and Scotland.
  • Finance Act 2017 outlines fines to be applied on conviction in Scotland.
  • Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 applies to England and Wales only.
  • Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Act 2017 applies to England and Wales only.
  • Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 Section 13 states it applies to England and Wales only.
  • Intellectual Property (Unjustified Threats) Act 2017 Section 7 states that it applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  • Local Audit (Public Access to documents) Act 2017 Section 2 states that it applies to England and Wales only.
  • Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017 Section 2(3) states that the Act applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland subject to Section 3(2).
  • National Citizen Service Act 2017 Section 13 states that the Act applies to England and Wales (subject to any subsequent amendments which may extend the Act).
  • Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017 Section 45 states that the Act applies to England and Wales except Section 42 and Part 3 which apply to (extend to) England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  • Northern Ireland (Ministerial Appointments and Regional Rates) Act 2017 Section 3(1) states that it applies to Northern Ireland only.
  • Parking Places (Variation of Charges) Act 2017 Section 3(2) states that it applies to England and Wales only.
  • Pension Schemes Act 2017 Section 43 states that the Act extends (applies to) to England, Wales and Scotland.
  • Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017 Section 3(3) states that the Act applies (extends to) England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  • Technical and Further Education Act 2017 states in Section 46 that Part Four and Section 6 (as it relates to Section 426 of the Insolvency Act 1986) apply to England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Section 46(3) states that the remaining sections of the Act apply to England and Wales only.

OpenLearn - The Scottish Parliament and law making
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