House of Lords

Session 1998-99 Publications on the internet Other Bills before Parliament Arrangement of Clauses (Contents)

Scottish Enterprise Bill

These notes refer to the Scottish Enterprise Bill as brought from the House of Commons on 2nd March 1999 [HL Bill 29] Scottish Enterprise Bill EXPLANATORY NOTES INTRODUCTION 1.     These explanatory notes relate to the Scottish Enterprise Bill as brought from the House of Commons on 2nd March 1999. They have been prepared by The Scottish Office in order to assist the reader of the Bill and to help inform debate on it. They do not form part of the Bill and have not been endorsed by Parliament. 2.     The notes need to be read in conjunction with the Bill. They are not, and are not meant to be, a comprehensive description of the Bill. BACKGROUND 3.     Scottish Enterprise was established in April 1991 by the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990 to further the economic development of Scotland. Section 25(2) of that Act limits the aggregate amount of central government funding that Scottish Enterprise can receive. This limit is defined as the aggregate amount outstanding (AAO). The AAO is made up of the following elements (with the level of funding at 31 March 1998 given in parenthesis): the general external borrowings of Scottish Enterprise and its subsidiaries (£3 million); sums issued by the Secretary of State, or the Treasury, in fulfilment of guarantees (nil); loans guaranteed by Scottish Enterprise or its subsidiaries (£0.3 million); and payments from the Secretary of State consisting of grant-in-aid less administrative expenses, plus Voted Loan payments (£2,470 million). The current limit stands at £3,000 million and it is estimated that this will be reached around June 1999. The purpose of the Bill is to raise this limit. COMMENTARY ON CLAUSES Clause 1 amends section 25(2) of the 1990 Act to raise the £3,000 million limit on Scottish Enterprise's AAO to £4,000 million and to remove the possibility of any further increase by statutory instrument. It also repeals section 25(3) of that Act, which provides for the parliamentary procedure applying to any such instrument. FINANCIAL EFFECTS OF THE BILL The effect of the Bill will be to enable Scottish Enterprise to receive further central government funding of up to £1,000 million. This will provide financial cover for their activities until approximately 2001. EFFECTS OF THE BILL ON PUBLIC SECTOR MANPOWER The Bill will not require any increase in the number of staff in the public service. REGULATORY APPRAISAL The Bill amends an existing regulatory regime without imposing any additional costs. COMMENCEMENT The Bill will come into effect two months after the date of Royal Assent. EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Section 19 of the Human Rights Act 1998 requires the Minister in charge of a Bill in either House of Parliament to make a statement about the compatibility of the provisions of the Bill with the Convention rights (as defined by section 1 of that Act). The statement has to be made before second reading. On 2nd March 1999 Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, Minister of State in the Scottish Office, made the following statement: In my view the provisions of the Scottish Enterprise Bill are compatible with the Convention rights.