- The Convener:
Item 2 is subordinate legislation. I welcome Hugh Henry, Deputy Minister for Justice, who is accompanied by Anne Cairns, from the office of the solicitor to the Scottish Executive, and Christina Phillips, from the Scottish Executive's Justice Department.
I invite the deputy minister to make a short opening statement on the draft Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Order 2006 and then to move motion S2M-4472.
- The Deputy Minister for Justice (Hugh Henry):
The draft order makes consequential amendments to primary legislation to take account of civil partners. The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into force throughout the United Kingdom in December 2005 and gave couples who have entered into a civil partnership rights and duties towards each other on the same basis as married couples.
Schedule 28 to the 2004 act set out the required consequential amendments to Scottish primary legislation to take account of civil partnerships. The amendments pick up instances where spouses have particular rights or responsibilities and, where appropriate, extend them to civil partners.
Given the extent to which the status of marriage is embedded in existing legislation, schedule 28 has not picked up every instance where a consequential amendment is required. The draft order before the committee provides for consequential amendments to be made to the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 and the Title Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 to include references to civil partners, as appropriate.
I move,
That the Justice 1 Committee recommends that the draft Civil Partnership Act 2004 (Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Order 2006 be approved.
- The Convener:
The draft order is fairly straightforward. I suppose that we will be dealing with consequential amendments in relation to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 for some time, until we ensure that we have included all the relevant acts.
- Hugh Henry:
Yes. As and when we identify areas that have been inadvertently missed, we will rectify them, as we have done here.
Motion agreed to.
- The Convener:
Thank you. That was short and sweet for a change.