UK Parliament / Open data

Water Services etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2005

My Lords, I may appear very ignorant about the way Section 104 orders work, but I do not understand the utility of what has been done in this case. I appreciate that, under Section 104 of the Scotland Act, the Secretary of State can make orders to change reserved law as a result of devolved law passed at Holyrood. But, as I see it, this order is not altering reserved law; it is adding to the Act passed at Holyrood in 2005. That Act was passed only in March, so why was this provision about reference to the Competition Commission not in it? Was it because it incorporated something to do with the Competition Commission, which is not devolved? Is that the reason? If not, why was this provision not incorporated? Secondly, how does somebody who wants to know how to make a reference to the Competition Commission know that this order exists? As I understand it, it is not attached in any way to the 2005 Act, nor to the legislation under which the Competition Commission operates. Can the Minister clarify exactly how this works? It seems to be a very confusing process and, if this is the result of Section 104, I wonder whether it is a particularly good idea and whether we ought to make it more effective.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
675 c475-6 
Session
2005-06
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords chamber
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