draft Scotland Act 1998 (Specification of Devolved Tax) (Wild fisheries) Order 2017

Michael Ellis Excerpts

Tuesday 12th December 2017 General Committees

[The Deputy Leader of the House of Commons (Michael Ellis)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Scotland Act 1998 (Specification of Devolved Tax) (Wild Fisheries) Order 2017.

The purpose of the draft order is to provide the Scottish Government with a limited and specific power to raise a levy on wild freshwater fisheries for the purposes of the management, conservation and sustainable development of those fisheries. The order stems from reforms being undertaken by Scottish Ministers to ensure that effective measures are in place to manage and conserve wild fisheries in Scotland.

An independent review of wild fisheries in Scotland was commissioned by the Scottish Government in 2014. Among the recommendations of the review was that the Scottish Government should have the power to adopt appropriate management tools, including the flexibility to change the way in which income is raised for fisheries management, which is currently done through a fisheries assessment levy applied to salmon fisheries at a local level.

The draft order will give Scottish Ministers the power to make regulations imposing a levy on the owners, occupiers or users of wild fisheries, or the owners or occupiers of the right to fish in wild fisheries. The Scottish Government intend to use the power by introducing provisions related to their wild fisheries (Scotland) Bill, which will provide Scottish Ministers with the flexibility to set, collect and retain fishery assessment levies in circumstances where they do not approve the fishery management plan developed at a local level.

The levies in question are considered by Her Majesty’s Treasury to be taxes, and therefore outside the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. In order to introduce a Bill into the Scottish Parliament with provisions on tax, the Scottish Government require an amendment to be made to part 4A of the Scotland Act 1998. An Order in Council under section 80B of the Act is the mechanism through which Her Majesty may by Order in Council amend part 4A so as to specify an additional devolved tax.

Her Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom have agreed to the devolution of the power to raise a levy on the basis that it will only be applied to a levy in respect of the conservation and management of freshwater fisheries. The devolution of such levy powers to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Ministers is not thought to have a significant impact on businesses in other parts of the United Kingdom, but is considered to be conducive to the United Kingdom Government meeting their international conservation commitments.

I therefore commend the draft order to the Committee.

[Sir Nicholas Soames (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

I rise briefly only to ask the Minister this detail: have the Government assessed whether the new tax is likely to improve the situation of the conservation and management of salmon fisheries?

[Michael Ellis]

The matter has been considered carefully and the levy is considered to be conducive to the conservation and management of freshwater fisheries, yes.

[Mr Alister Jack (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)]

How does the draft order fall into place with the Tweed Act and cross-border levy collection?

[Michael Ellis]

As far as the River Tweed is concerned, where it crosses over the border into England, this order will not apply; it will apply to the River Tweed in Scotland. Where the river crosses the border will be the demarcation point for the order.

--- Later in debate ---

[Michael Ellis]

On the first point, I of course welcome the position of the Scottish National party in welcoming this order. The order will come into force the day after Her Majesty approves it in Council. It can only go before Her Majesty in Council when it has gone through the legislative processes of this House, so a date has not been fixed for that, but it is not anticipated to be particularly far in the future. The activation of the order would be the day after Her Majesty approved it in Council, should Her Majesty do so.

On the exact legal ramifications relating to the River Tweed, I have said that the levies attracted by the Scottish Government will of course only apply within the jurisdiction of the Scottish Government. I can say no more than that at this point, but if there are any questions in particular about the exact specifics, we can certainly write to my hon. Friend.

[Mr Jack]

Does that also apply to the Border Esk?

[Michael Ellis]

As I have said, I am happy to write to my hon. Friend with more detail about that matter, but that is all the information I have on this order at the moment.

Question put and agreed to.