Budget (Scotland) Bill 2008
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Passage of the Budget (Scotland) Bill 2008 SPPB 120 Passage of the Budget (Scotland) Bill 2008 SP Bill 5 (Session 3), subsequently 2008 asp 2 SPPB 120 EDINBURGH: APS GROUP SCOTLAND For information in languages other than English or in alternative formats (for example Braille, large print, audio tape or various computer formats), please send your enquiry to Public Information, The Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, EH991SP. You can also contact us by email [email protected] We welcome written correspondence in any language Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Information on the Scottish Parliament’s copyright policy can be found on the website - www.scottish.parliament.uk Produced and published in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by APS Group Scotland. ISBN 978-1-78307-901-8 Contents Page Foreword Introduction of the Bill Bill (As Introduced) (SP Bill 5) 1 Accompanying Documents (SP Bill 5-AD) 25 Delegated Powers Memorandum (SP Bill 5-DPM) 26 Stage 1 Extract from the Minutes of the Parliament, 23 January 2008 28 Official Report, Meeting of the Parliament, 23 January 2008 30 Stage 2 Extract from the Minutes, Finance Committee, 29 January 2008 79 Official Report, Finance Committee, 29 January 2008 80 After Stage 2 Report on Budget (Scotland) Bill, Subordinate Legislation Committee, 31 83 January 2008 Stage 3 Correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable 88 Growth to the Finance Committee, 31 January 2008 Marshalled List of Amendments selected for Stage 3 (SP Bill 5-ML) 90 Groupings of Amendments for Stage 3 (SP Bill 5-G) 91 Extract from the Minutes of the Parliament, 6 February 2008 92 Official Report, Meeting of the Parliament, 6 February 2008 94 Bill (As Passed) (SP Bill 5A) 133 Foreword Purpose of the series The aim of this series is to bring together in a single place all the official Parliamentary documents relating to the passage of the Bill that becomes an Act of the Scottish Parliament (ASP). The list of documents included in any particular volume will depend on the nature of the Bill and the circumstances of its passage, but a typical volume will include: every print of the Bill (usually three – “As Introduced”, “As Amended at Stage 2” and “As Passed”); the accompanying documents published with the “As Introduced” print of the Bill (and any revised versions published at later Stages); every Marshalled List of amendments from Stages 2 and 3; every Groupings list from Stages 2 and 3; the lead Committee’s “Stage 1 report” (which itself includes reports of other committees involved in the Stage 1 process, relevant committee Minutes and extracts from the Official Report of Stage 1 proceedings); the Official Report of the Stage 1 and Stage 3 debates in the Parliament; the Official Report of Stage 2 committee consideration; the Minutes (or relevant extracts) of relevant Committee meetings and of the Parliament for Stages 1 and 3. All documents included are re-printed in the original layout and format, but with minor typographical and layout errors corrected. Where documents in the volume include web-links to external sources or to documents not incorporated in this volume, these links have been checked and are correct at the time of publishing this volume. The Scottish Parliament is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites. The links in this volume will not be monitored after publication, and no guarantee can be given that all links will continue to be effective. Documents in each volume are arranged in the order in which they relate to the passage of the Bill through its various stages, from introduction to passing. The Act itself is not included on the grounds that it is already generally available and is, in any case, not a Parliamentary publication. Outline of the legislative process Bills in the Scottish Parliament follow a three-stage process. The fundamentals of the process are laid down by section 36(1) of the Scotland Act 1998, and amplified by Chapter 9 of the Parliament’s Standing Orders. In outline, the process is as follows: Introduction, followed by publication of the Bill and its accompanying documents; Stage 1: the Bill is first referred to a relevant committee, which produces a report informed by evidence from interested parties, then the Parliament debates the Bill and decides whether to agree to its general principles; Stage 2: the Bill returns to a committee for detailed consideration of amendments; Stage 3: the Bill is considered by the Parliament, with consideration of further amendments followed by a debate and a decision on whether to pass the Bill. After a Bill is passed, three law officers and the Secretary of State have a period of four weeks within which they may challenge the Bill under sections 33 and 35 of the Scotland Act respectively. The Bill may then be submitted for Royal Assent, at which point it becomes an Act. Standing Orders allow for some variations from the above pattern in some cases. For example, Bills may be referred back to a committee during Stage 3 for further Stage 2 consideration. In addition, the procedures vary for certain categories of Bills, such as Committee Bills or Emergency Bills. For some volumes in the series, relevant proceedings prior to introduction (such as pre-legislative scrutiny of a draft Bill) may be included. The reader who is unfamiliar with Bill procedures, or with the terminology of legislation more generally, is advised to consult in the first instance the Guidance on Public Bills published by the Parliament. That Guidance, and the Standing Orders, are available for sale from Stationery Office bookshops or free of charge on the Parliament’s website (www.scottish.parliament.uk). The series is produced by the Legislation Team within the Parliament’s Chamber Office. Comments on this volume or on the series as a whole may be sent to the Legislation Team at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP. Notes on this volume The Bill to which this volume relates was the first Budget Bill introduced in the third session of the Parliament. Although this volume deals only with proceedings on the Bill, those proceedings should be seen in the context of the overall Budget scrutiny process. That process has three stages. The process described here is that which applied at the time this Bill was considered by the Parliament. The first stage involves committee scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s provisional expenditure proposals for the following financial year. Each subject committee reports to the Finance Committee, which then reports to the Parliament. At the second stage, the subject committees consider the Scottish Government’s draft Budget and, again, the Finance Committee reports to the Parliament. These two stages inform the Scottish Government’s final budget proposals for the year ahead – the Budget Bill. Once introduced, the Bill itself goes through the same three legislative stages as other Bills, but subject to special procedures under Rule 9.16 of the Parliament’s standing orders. In particular, no Explanatory Notes or Policy Memorandum are required1, there is an accelerated timescale, no Stage 1 report is required and only the Scottish Government may lodge amendments to the Bill. 1 Although the only accompanying documents formally required under the Parliament’s Standing Orders are those reproduced in this volume, the Scottish Government also publishes its own document providing more detail on the Budget Bill. For the supporting document to the Bill to which this volume relates see: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/02/21153821/0 In 2005, the Parliament agreed a revised protocol on the annual Budget scrutiny process to the effect that the full three-stage process should only be followed in Spending Review years and that Stage 1 should not take place in non-Spending Review years. The Budget Bill to which this volume relates followed a Spending Review. However, due to the dissolution of the Parliament for the Scottish election in May 2007, no provisional expenditure proposals for 2008-09 were produced in the Spring of 2007 and the Finance Committee was not, therefore, able to prepare a report at that stage. The time available for budget scrutiny in Autumn 2007 was also truncated as the timing of the UK Government’s Spending Review meant that the Scottish Government did not publish its own Spending Review and its Draft Budget for 2008- 09 until 14 November 2007 (rather than the Draft Budget being published in September as usual). The debate in the Parliament on the Finance Committee’s report on Stage 2 of the 2008-09 Budget Process (1st Report 2008 (SP Paper 44) 2) was, therefore, combined with the debate on Stage 1 of the Budget Bill on 23 January 2008. The Bill was not amended at Stage 2 and hence no “As Amended at Stage 2” version of the Bill was produced. 2 The Report is available at: http://archive.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/finance/reports-08/fir08-01-vol1-01.htm See also the Scottish Government’s response to the Report, published on 29 January 2008: http://archive.scottish.parliament.uk/s3/committees/finance/inquiries/budget/documents/SGResponse. pdf Budget (Scotland) Bill [AS INTRODUCED] CONTENTS Section PART 1 FINANCIAL YEAR 2008/09 Use of resources 1 The Scottish Administration 2 Direct-funded bodies The Scottish Consolidated Fund 3 Overall cash authorisations 4 Contingencies: payments out of the Fund Borrowing by certain statutory bodies 5 Borrowing by certain statutory bodies PART 2 FINANCIAL YEAR