Session 2007/2008
Fourth Report
Report of the
Examiner of Statutory Rules
to
the Assembly
and
the Appropriate Committees
19 October 2007
Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development |
S.R. 2007 Nos. 407, 410, 417, 418, 428 |
Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment |
S.R. 2007 Nos. 425, 433 |
Committee for the Environment |
S.R. 2007 No. 416 |
Committee for Finance and Personnel |
S.R. 2007 No. 409 |
Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety |
S.R. 2007 Nos. 419, 420 |
Committee for Regional Development |
S.R. 2007 Nos. 412, 413, 414, 415, 422, 426, 427 |
Committee for Social Development |
S.R. 2007 No. 431 |
NIA 50/07-08
- In accordance with the delegations in respect of the technical scrutiny of statutory rules under Standing Order 41(4)(b) given to the Examiner of Statutory Rules by the appropriate Committees on 11, 16, 17 and 18 May 2007, I submit my report on the statutory rules listed in the Appendix.
- My terms of reference are essentially set out in Standing Order 41(6) (taken with the delegations under Standing Order 41(4)(b)) are as follows:
“( 6) In scrutinising an instrument the appropriate Committee shall inter alia consider the instrument with a view to determining and reporting on whether it requires to be drawn to the special attention of the Assembly on any of the following grounds, namely, that –
(a) it imposes a charge on the public revenues or prescribes the amount of any such charge;
(b) it contains provisions requiring any payment to be made to any Northern Ireland department or public body in respect of any approval, authorisation, licence or consent or of any service provided or to be provided by that department or body or prescribes the amount of any such payment;
(c) the parent legislation excludes it from challenge in the courts;
(d) it purports to have retrospective effect where the parent legislation confers no express authority so to provide;
(e) there appears to have been unjustifiable delay in the publication of it or in the laying of it before the Assembly;
(f) there appears to be a doubt whether it is intra vires or it appears to make some unusual or unexpected use of the powers conferred by the parent legislation;
(g) it calls for elucidation;
(h) it appears to have defects in its drafting;
or on any other ground which does not impinge on its merits or the policy behind it.”.
Statutory rules to which attention is drawn in this report
Agriculture (Student Fees) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/410)
-
I draw the attention of the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development and the Assembly to the Agriculture (Student Fees) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/410) on the ground that it is defectively drafted in one respect, acknowledged in effect by the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development.
-
Regulation 3 corrects regulation 1(1) of the Agriculture (Student Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/54) (the principal Regulations). Those Regulations were seemingly intended to come into operation on 21 February 2007 (judging by the italic “Coming into operation” on their face). But those words were left out of regulation 1(1). The substituted regulation 1(1) contained in regulation 3 of these Regulations instead provided the commencement date of the principal Regulations as 29 January 2007 (the date on which the principal Regulations were made). So time appears to be running backwards in this case. When I asked the Department for an explanation as to why it plumped for 29 January 2007 instead of 21 February 2007, the Department indicated that this was an oversight. In the circumstances of these Regulations I am satisfied that the substituted commencement date has no practical significance at this stage in terms of retrospective legislation and it seems to me that it would now be better to leave it alone and not amend it further. But this is a salutary tale for the Department and Departments generally.
The Companies (Tables A to F) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/425)
-
I draw the attention of the Committee for Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the Assembly to the Companies (Tables A to F) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/425) on the ground that they were laid in breach of the 21-day rule. But it seems to me that the explanation given by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment for the breach is reasonable.
- The Companies (Tables A to F) Regulations essentially contain provisions which can be used as the Articles of Association of companies limited by shares. The Tables were recently amended in S.R. 2007/394. It seems that, but for these latest Regulations, there would have been a conflict with effect from 1 October 2007 (when S.R. 2007/394 came into operation) between the Tables and certain provisions of the Companies Act 2006. That conflict was only identified in the last week of September 2007 and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment has moved quickly to obviate it in these latest Regulations (which were made and laid on 3 October 2007 and came into operation on 4 October 2007).
W G Nabney
Examiner of Statutory Rules
19 October 2007
APPENDIX
(The attention of the appropriate Committees and the Assembly is drawn to those statutory rules marked in bold)
Statutory rules subject to negative resolution
The Sea Fishing (Restrictions on Days at Sea) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/407)
The Lands Tribunal (Amendment) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 20007/409)
Agriculture (Student Fees) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/410)
The College Park, Belfast (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/412)
The Finvoy Road, Ballymoney (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/413)
The Sandholes Road, Cookstown (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/414)
The A22 Downpatrick Road, Killyleagh (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/415)
Game Preservation (Special Protection for Irish Hares) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/416)
Agricultural and Forestry Marketing Development Grant Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/417)
Agricultural and Forestry Processing and Marketing Grant Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/418)
The Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (Lid Gaskets) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/419)
The Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/420)
The U1110 Green Road, Londonderry (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/422)
The Companies (Tables A to F) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/425)
The Steelstown Road, Londonderry (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/426)
The Galgorm Road, Ballymena (Abandonment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/427)
Pesticides (Maximum Residue Levels in Crops, Food and Feeding Stuffs) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/428)
The Social Security (Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/431)
The Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirements for a Licence) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 (S.R. 2007/433)