Scotland Act 1998 (River Tweed) Order 2006

My Lords, I am particularly glad to welcome the noble and learned Lord to his place and to hear his maiden speech. I live only 15 miles south of the foot of Glen Clova and so he is indeed from time to time a neighbour. It is extremely nice to see him in his place. I know that he is an extremely distinguished member of the Scots Bar, and I am sure the House welcomes somebody of his ability in what experiences tells me is an important role under the Scotland Act. It is extremely important that United Kingdom legislation which applies to Scotland, or which has impact on Scotland, is well drafted. I am sure that the noble and learned Lord will in a good position to look at all these Bills before they come to us and ensure that there are no holes which we can spot and draw to the Government’s attention. I did not think that I had any questions to ask the noble and learned Lord, but there are two and they are probably very simple for him to answer. The first relates to what the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan, was saying. How will it be decided whether to prosecute somebody under Scots or English law for a given offence? Is that a matter of the geography of where the offence is committed? Can it be committed in the middle of the Tweed, where it might be difficult to know which side the offence was on? I wondered how that worked. I am sure it has been well thought out, but it would be interesting to know. The other question was also perhaps hinted at by the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan. Will you be allowed to guddle a trout; that is, catch it by tickling its tummy? A friend of mine who lives in the Tweed catchment area tells me that the authorities currently pay attention to small trout right at the top of tributaries, miles away from the Tweed. No doubt they will continue to do so under the order. The noble Lord, Lord Maclennan, said that there would be local people accustomed to fishing in some small burn which is a tributary to the Tweed.