Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024

General provisions

14 Ancillary power

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make any incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision they consider appropriate for the purposes of, in connection with or for giving full effect to this Act or any provision made under it.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may modify any enactment (including this Act).

(3) Regulations under subsection (1)—

(a) are subject to the affirmative procedure if they add to, replace or omit any part of the text of an Act (including this Act), but

(b) otherwise, are subject to the negative procedure.

15 Interpretation

In this Act—

• “abortion services” means any treatment for the termination of pregnancy authorised under the Abortion Act 1967,

• “Health Board” means a Health Board constituted under section 2(1)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978,

• “hospital” means a hospital vested in the Scottish Ministers for the purpose of their functions under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978,

• “operator”, in relation to protected premises or proposed protected premises, means—

  (a)

  where the premises are or form part of a hospital, the Health Board in whose area the hospital is situated,

  (b)

  where the premises are a place approved under section 1(3) of the Abortion Act 1967 to provide abortion services, the person who is registered by virtue of section 10P of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 as managing the services,

• “proposed protected premises” has the meaning given in section 3(1),

• “protected premises” has the meaning given in section 1,

• “protected site” has the meaning given in section 2(7),

• “safe access zone”, in relation to protected premises, is to be construed in accordance with section 2.

16 Crown application

(1) Nothing in this Act makes the Crown criminally liable.

(2) But the Court of Session may, on the application of the Lord Advocate, declare unlawful any act or omission for which the Crown would be criminally liable if it were not for subsection (1).

(3) Subsection (1) does not affect the criminal liability of persons in the service of the Crown.

17 Commencement

(1) This section and sections 14, 15, 16 and 18 come into force on the day after Royal Assent.

(2) The other provisions of this Act come into force on such day as the Scottish Ministers may by regulations appoint.

(3) Regulations under subsection (2) may—

(a) include transitional, transitory or saving provision,

(b) make different provision for different purposes.

18 Short title

The short title of this Act is the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Act 2024.