Part 1: Corresponding provision in relation to executive competence
- Part 1 makes changes to devolved executive competence, which correspond to the changes made to legislative competence by section 12.
- Paragraph 1 makes provision in relation to the existing limit in section 57(2) Scotland Act 1998 on a member of the Scottish Government making secondary legislation or otherwise acting incompatibly with EU law. Sub-paragraph (a) amends this to remove the limit on legislating or acting incompatibly with EU law.
- Sub-paragraph (b) then inserts provisions into the Scotland Act 1998 to confer a new power. New subsections 57(4) and (5) of that Act provide that that a Minister of the Crown may specify by regulations areas in which a member of the Scottish Government may not modify, by subordinate legislation, retained EU law except where the modification would either be within the Scottish Parliament’s legislative competence, or is made in exercise of the powers in Schedule 2 or 4 to this Act.
- This power is subject to the same conditions (set out in new subsections 57(6) to 57(15) of the Scotland Act 1998) as the corresponding power relating to the Scottish Parliament’s legislative competence in subsection 12(2) of this Act, including the requirement to send draft regulations to the relevant devolved administration, the provision relating to devolved ‘consent decisions’ and the sunset provisions.
- Paragraphs 2 and 3 make equivalent provision in respect of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to give effect to the new power to temporarily freeze executive competence in specified areas.
Scotland Act 1998
Government of Wales Act 2006, Northern Ireland Act 1998
