Other Instruments of interest
17. In the light of the current Mental Health
Bill, members may be interested to note the Draft Mental Capacity
Act 2005 (Loss of Capacity during Research Project) (England)
Regulations 2007 and Mental Capacity Act 2005 (Appropriate
Body) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3474)
which implement the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
to protect the interests of people lacking or losing capacity
during a research project, but also enable properly authorised
research into medical or social care to be carried out.
18. In respect of the Firefighters' Pension
Scheme (England) Order 2006 (SI 2006/3432), which provides
a new pension scheme for firefighters employed in the fire and
rescue service (FRS) in England, DCLG have advised the Committee
that the unions concerned opposed the new pension arrangements,
on the ground that it was unacceptable to expect firefighters
to work with other firefighters who were members of a different
pension scheme and entitled to different benefits. However, the
Government concluded that the provisions of the existing pension
scheme were not sufficiently flexible to allow for future developments
in the FRS, and that a new scheme would be more affordable.
19. The Building and Approved Inspectors (Amendment)
(No. 2) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/3318) make a number of changes
to the requirements set out in earlier SIs, including requiring
a person carrying out work to certain buildings to provide information
in relation to matters which affect fire safety in the building;
and requiring the provision of automatic fire suppression systems
to prevent the spread of fire within buildings, where reasonably
necessary. The Committee felt that the Explanatory Memorandum
failed to clarify the circumstances in which such suppression
systems would in fact have to be installed. At our request, DCLG
provided further information about the impact of the changes (made
not only by the Regulations, but also by associated guidance)
and this is printed at Appendix 2.
Management of Secondary Legislation
20. Our 29th Report of 2005-06 (HL Paper 149),
on the management of secondary legislation, followed our inquiry
into that subject. We published the Government's response at Appendix
3 to our 49th Report of 2005-06 (HL Paper 275). The Report was
debated on 29 November 2006 (HL Deb col 805-840), during which
debate the Minister undertook to write to members about various
matters: that correspondence is printed at Appendix 3 to this
Report.
| 
