STATUTE LAW REVISION: SIXTEENTH ... - Law Commission

PART VII
SCOTTISH LOCAL ACTS
46 Group 1 - Aid to the Poor, Charities and Private Pensions
47 Group 2 - Dog Wardens
48 Group 3 - Education
49 Group 4 - Insurance Companies
50 Group 5 - Local Authority Finance
51 Group 6 - Order Confirmation Acts
52 Group 7 - Oyster and Mussel Fisheries
53 Group 8 - Other Repeals
54 Introduction
7.1 In July 1996, after more than 20 years of work, the Law Commission and the
Scottish Law Commission published the “Chronological Table of Local
Legislation” (1797-1994) (“the Local Table”). At the same time the Commissions
also published a Joint “Report on the Chronological Table of Local Legislation” 1 .
The Local Table records the current state of every Local Act of Parliament
passed in that period, and thus reveals the volume of unrepealed local legislation
still technically in existence although probably superseded, spent or already
repealed, but only in general terms.
7.2 The Scottish Law Commission, having already begun an exercise to tackle the
explicit repeal of Local Acts applicable to the City of Glasgow (see Statute Law
(Repeals) Act 1995 2 ), decided to trawl the Local Table to identify categories of
Scottish Local Act which it might target for future explicit repeal. Apart from
Scottish Local Acts under subject headings such as Railways, Canals and Water
Supplies (the express repeal of which the Commission hoped would in time be
tackled by the Private Companies or Public Utilities concerned), topics such as
Insurance Companies, Private Pension Schemes and Oyster Fishing presented
themselves as likely projects, given the number of possibly redundant Acts in
these areas, and were therefore investigated.
7.3 All Local Acts in the category “Aid to the Poor, Charities and Private Pensions”
were investigated and the Commission was surprised to find how many were still
actively in use. Some private associations, however, had no funds with which to
effect repeal, or felt that funds available to them could be put to better use than
repeal of their redundant legislation. The Commission considered that its efforts
over the repeal of such Acts as these was an appropriate use of its resources.
7.4 The categories of Dog Wardens and Local Authority Finance comprise Acts first
considered for repeal by the previous Statute Law (Repeals) Bill 3 . In the case of
the Acts now listed, the necessary consent from all interested parties was not
received in time for these repeals to be included in that Bill.
1 Law Com No 241, Scot Law Com No 155.
2 1995 c.44 Schedule 1, Part III, Group 1.
3
See Fifteenth Report on Statute Law Revision - March 1995 - Law Com No 233, Scot Law
Com No 150.
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