Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46)

(The document as of February, 2008)

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47 Ministers

(1) The First Minister may, with the approval of Her Majesty, appoint Ministers from among the members of the Parliament.

(2) The First Minister shall not seek Her Majesty's approval for any appointment under this section without the agreement of the Parliament.

(3) A Minister appointed under this section--

(a) shall hold office at Her Majesty's pleasure,

(b) may be removed from office by the First Minister,

(c) may at any time resign and shall do so if the Parliament resolves that the Scottish Executive no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament,

(d) if he resigns, shall cease to hold office immediately, and

(e) shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a member of the Parliament otherwise than by virtue of a dissolution.

48 The Scottish Law Officers

(1) It is for the First Minister to recommend to Her Majesty the appointment or removal of a person as Lord Advocate or Solicitor General for Scotland; but he shall not do so without the agreement of the Parliament.

(2) The Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland may at any time resign and shall do so if the Parliament resolves that the Scottish Executive no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament.

(3) Where the Lord Advocate resigns in consequence of such a resolution, he shall be deemed to continue in office until the warrant of appointment of the person succeeding to the office of Lord Advocate is granted, but only for the purpose of exercising his retained functions.

(4) Subsection (3) is without prejudice to section 287 of the [1995 c. 43.] Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (demission of office by Lord Advocate).

(5) Any decision of the Lord Advocate in his capacity as head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland shall continue to be taken by him independently of any other person.

(6) In Schedule 2 to the [1975 c. 24.] House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 (Ministerial offices) and Part III of Schedule 1 to the [1975 c. 27.] Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 (salaries of the Law Officers), the entries for the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland are omitted.

49 Junior Scottish Ministers

(1) The First Minister may, with the approval of Her Majesty, appoint persons from among the members of the Parliament to assist the Scottish Ministers in the exercise of their functions.

(2) They shall be known as junior Scottish Ministers.

(3) The First Minister shall not seek Her Majesty's approval for any appointment under this section without the agreement of the Parliament.

(4) A junior Scottish Minister--

(a) shall hold office at Her Majesty's pleasure,

(b) may be removed from office by the First Minister,

(c) may at any time resign and shall do so if the Parliament resolves that the Scottish Executive no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament,

(d) if he resigns, shall cease to hold office immediately, and

(e) shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a member of the Parliament otherwise than by virtue of a dissolution.

50 Validity of acts of Scottish Ministers etc

The validity of any act of a member of the Scottish Executive or junior Scottish Minister is not affected by any defect in his nomination by the Parliament or (as the case may be) in the Parliament's agreement to his appointment.

51 The Civil Service

(1) The Scottish Ministers may appoint persons to be members of the staff of the Scottish Administration.

(2) Service as--

(a) the holder of any office in the Scottish Administration which is not a ministerial office, or

(b) a member of the staff of the Scottish Administration,

shall be service in the Home Civil Service.

(3) Subsection (1) and the other enactments conferring power to appoint such persons shall have effect subject to any provision made in relation to the Home Civil Service by or under any Order in Council.

(4) Any Civil Service management function shall be exercisable by the Minister for the Civil Service in relation to the persons mentioned in subsection (2) as it is exercisable in relation to other members of the Home Civil Service; and, accordingly, section 1 of the [1992 c. 61.] Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992 (delegation of functions by Ministers) shall apply to any such function as extended by this section.

(5) Any salary or allowances payable to or in respect of the persons mentioned in subsection (2) (including contributions to any pension scheme) shall be payable out of the Scottish Consolidated Fund.

(6) Section 1(2) and (3) of the [1972 c. 11.] Superannuation Act 1972 (delegation of functions relating to civil service superannuation schemes etc.) shall have effect as if references to a Minister of the Crown (other than the Minister for the Civil Service) included the Scottish Ministers.

(7) The Scottish Ministers shall make payments to the Minister for the Civil Service, at such times as he may determine, of such amounts as he may determine in respect of--

(a) the provision of pensions, allowances or gratuities by virtue of section 1 of the [1972 c. 11.] Superannuation Act 1972 to or in respect of persons who are or have been in such service as is mentioned in subsection (2), and

(b) any expenses to be incurred in administering those pensions, allowances or gratuities.

(8) Amounts required for payments under subsection (7) shall be charged on the Scottish Consolidated Fund.

(9) In this section--

"Civil Service management function" means any function to which section 1 of the [1992 c. 61.] Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992 applies and which is vested in the Minister for the Civil Service,
"the Home Civil Service" means Her Majesty's Home Civil Service.

Ministerial functions

52 Exercise of functions

(1) Statutory functions may be conferred on the Scottish Ministers by that name.

(2) Statutory functions of the Scottish Ministers, the First Minister or the Lord Advocate shall be exercisable on behalf of Her Majesty.

(3) Statutory functions of the Scottish Ministers shall be exercisable by any member of the Scottish Executive.

(4) Any act or omission of, or in relation to, any member of the Scottish Executive shall be treated as an act or omission of, or in relation to, each of them; and any property acquired, or liability incurred, by any member of the Scottish Executive shall be treated accordingly.

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply in relation to the exercise of--

(a) functions conferred on the First Minister alone, or

(b) retained functions of the Lord Advocate.

(6) In this Act, "retained functions" in relation to the Lord Advocate means--

(a) any functions exercisable by him immediately before he ceases to be a Minister of the Crown, and

(b) other statutory functions conferred on him alone after he ceases to be a Minister of the Crown.

(7) In this section, "statutory functions" means functions conferred by virtue of any enactment.

53 General transfer of functions

(1) The functions mentioned in subsection (2) shall, so far as they are exercisable within devolved competence, be exercisable by the Scottish Ministers instead of by a Minister of the Crown.

(2) Those functions are--

(a) those of Her Majesty's prerogative and other executive functions which are exercisable on behalf of Her Majesty by a Minister of the Crown,

(b) other functions conferred on a Minister of the Crown by a prerogative instrument, and

but do not include any retained functions of the Lord Advocate.

(3) In this Act, "pre-commencement enactment" means--

(a) an Act passed before or in the same session as this Act and any other enactment made before the passing of this Act,

(b) an enactment made, before the commencement of this section, under such an Act or such other enactment,

(c) subordinate legislation under section 106, to the extent that the legislation states that it is to be treated as a pre-commencement enactment.

(4) This section and section 54 are modified by Part III of Schedule 4.

54 Devolved competence

(1) References in this Act to the exercise of a function being within or outside devolved competence are to be read in accordance with this section.

(2) It is outside devolved competence--

(a) to make any provision by subordinate legislation which would be outside the legislative competence of the Parliament if it were included in an Act of the Scottish Parliament, or

(b) to confirm or approve any subordinate legislation containing such provision.

(3) In the case of any function other than a function of making, confirming or approving subordinate legislation, it is outside devolved competence to exercise the function (or exercise it in any way) so far as a provision of an Act of the Scottish Parliament conferring the function (or, as the case may be, conferring it so as to be exercisable in that way) would be outside the legislative competence of the Parliament.

55 Functions exercisable with agreement

(1) A statutory provision, or any provision not contained in an enactment, which provides for a Minister of the Crown to exercise a function with the agreement of, or after consultation with, any other Minister of the Crown shall cease to have effect in relation to the exercise of the function by a member of the Scottish Executive by virtue of section 53.

(2) In subsection (1) "statutory provision" means any provision in a pre-commencement enactment other than paragraph 5 or 15 of Schedule 32 to the [1980 c. 65.] Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 (designation of enterprise zones).

56 Shared powers

(1) Despite the transfer by virtue of section 53 of any function under--

(a) section 17(1) of the [1919 c. 50.] Ministry of Transport Act 1919 (power to make advances for certain purposes),

(b) any Order in Council under section 1 of the [1946 c. 45.] United Nations Act 1946 (measures to give effect to Security Council decisions),

(c) section 9 of the [1947 c. 40.] Industrial Organisation and Development Act 1947 (levies for scientific research, promotion of exports, etc.),

(d) section 5 of the [1965 c. 4.] Science and Technology Act 1965 (funding of scientific research),

(e) section 1 of the [1972 c. 9.] Mineral Exploration and Investment Grants Act 1972 (contributions in respect of mineral exploration),

(f) sections 10 to 12 of the [1972 c. 63.] Industry Act 1972 (credits and grants for construction of ships and offshore installations),

(g) sections 2, 11(3) and 12(4) of the [1973 c. 50.] Employment and Training Act 1973 (power to make arrangements for employment and training etc. and to make certain payments),

(h) sections 7 to 9 and 11 to 13 of the [1982 c. 52.] Industrial Development Act 1982 (financial and other assistance for industry), and

(i) sections 39 and 40 of the [1988 c. 52.] Road Traffic Act 1988 (road safety information and training),

the function shall be exercisable by a Minister of the Crown as well as by the Scottish Ministers.

(2) Despite the transfer of any other function by virtue of section 53, the function shall, if subordinate legislation so provides, be exercisable (or be exercisable so far as the legislation provides) by a Minister of the Crown as well as by the Scottish Ministers.

(3) Subordinate legislation under subsection (2) may not be made so as to come into force at any time after the function in question has become exercisable by the Scottish Ministers.

(4) Any power referred to in section 53(2)(a) to establish, maintain or abolish a body, office or office-holder having functions which include both--

(a) functions which are exercisable in or as regards Scotland and do not relate to reserved matters, and

(b) other functions,

shall, despite that section, be exercisable jointly by the Minister of the Crown and the Scottish Ministers.

(5) In subsection (4), "office-holder" includes employee or other post-holder.

57 Community law and Convention rights

(1) Despite the transfer to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of functions in relation to observing and implementing obligations under Community law, any function of a Minister of the Crown in relation to any matter shall continue to be exercisable by him as regards Scotland for the purposes specified in section 2(2) of the [1972 c. 68.] European Communities Act 1972.

(2) A member of the Scottish Executive has no power to make any subordinate legislation, or to do any other act, so far as the legislation or act is incompatible with any of the Convention rights or with Community law.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to an act of the Lord Advocate--

(a) in prosecuting any offence, or

(b) in his capacity as head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland,

which, because of subsection (2) of section 6 of the [1998 c. 42.] Human Rights Act 1998, is not unlawful under subsection (1) of that section.

58 Power to prevent or require action

(1) If the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that any action proposed to be taken by a member of the Scottish Executive would be incompatible with any international obligations, he may by order direct that the proposed action shall not be taken.

(2) If the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that any action capable of being taken by a member of the Scottish Executive is required for the purpose of giving effect to any such obligations, he may by order direct that the action shall be taken.

(3) In subsections (1) and (2), "action" includes making, confirming or approving subordinate legislation and, in subsection (2), includes introducing a Bill in the Parliament.

(4) If any subordinate legislation made or which could be revoked by a member of the Scottish Executive contains provisions--

(a) which the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe to be incompatible with any international obligations or the interests of defence or national security, or

(b) which make modifications of the law as it applies to reserved matters and which the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe to have an adverse effect on the operation of the law as it applies to reserved matters,

the Secretary of State may by order revoke the legislation.

(5) An order under this section must state the reasons for making the order.

Property and liabilities

59 Property and liabilities of the Scottish Ministers

(1) Property may be held by the Scottish Ministers by that name.

(2) Property acquired by or transferred to the Scottish Ministers shall belong to, and liabilities incurred by the Scottish Ministers shall be liabilities of, the Scottish Ministers for the time being.

(3) In relation to property to be acquired by or transferred to, or belonging to, the Scottish Ministers or liabilities incurred by the Scottish Ministers, references to the Scottish Ministers--

(a) in any title recorded in the Register of Sasines or registered in the Land Register of Scotland, or

(b) in any other document,

shall be read in accordance with subsection (2).

(4) A document shall be validly executed by the Scottish Ministers if it is executed by any member of the Scottish Executive.

60 Transfers to the Scottish Ministers

(1) Subordinate legislation may provide--

(a) for the transfer to the Scottish Ministers of any property belonging to a Minister of the Crown or government department, or

(b) for the Scottish Ministers to have such rights or interests in relation to any property belonging to a Minister of the Crown or government department as the person making the legislation considers appropriate (whether in connection with a transfer or otherwise).

(2) Subordinate legislation may provide for the transfer to the Scottish Ministers of any liabilities to which a Minister of the Crown or government department is subject.

(3) Subordinate legislation under this section may only be made in connection with any transfer or sharing of functions of a Minister of the Crown by virtue of section 53, 63 or 89 or in any other circumstances in which the person making the legislation considers it appropriate to do so for the purposes of this Act.

61 Property and liabilities of the Lord Advocate and the First Minister

(1) Property may be held by the Lord Advocate by that name.

(2) Property acquired by or transferred to the Lord Advocate shall belong to, and liabilities incurred by the Lord Advocate shall be liabilities of, the Lord Advocate for the time being.

(3) In relation to property to be acquired by or transferred to, or belonging to, the Lord Advocate or liabilities incurred by the Lord Advocate, references to the Lord Advocate--

(a) in any title recorded in the Register of Sasines or registered in the Land Register of Scotland, or

(b) in any other document,

shall be read in accordance with subsection (2).

(4) Any rights and liabilities acquired or incurred by the First Minister shall be rights or (as the case may be) liabilities of the First Minister for the time being.

62 Transfers to the Lord Advocate

(1) Subordinate legislation may provide--

(a) for the transfer to the Lord Advocate of any property belonging to a Minister of the Crown or government department, or

(b) for the Lord Advocate to have such rights or interests in relation to any property belonging to a Minister of the Crown or government department as the person making the legislation considers appropriate (whether in connection with a transfer or otherwise).

(2) Subordinate legislation may provide for the transfer to the Lord Advocate of any liabilities to which a Minister of the Crown or government department is subject.

(3) Subordinate legislation under this section may only be made in connection with the Lord Advocate becoming a member of the Scottish Executive or having any retained functions or in any other circumstances in which the person making the legislation considers it appropriate to do so for the purposes of this Act.

Transfer of additional functions

63 Power to transfer functions

(1) Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide for any functions, so far as they are exercisable by a Minister of the Crown in or as regards Scotland, to be exercisable--

(a) by the Scottish Ministers instead of by the Minister of the Crown,

(b) by the Scottish Ministers concurrently with the Minister of the Crown, or

(2) Where an Order is made under subsection (1)(a) or (b) in relation to a function of a Minister of the Crown which is exercisable only with the agreement of, or after consultation with, another Minister of the Crown, the function shall, unless the Order provides otherwise, be exercisable by the Scottish Ministers free from any such requirement.

(3) An Order under this section may, in particular, provide for any function exercisable by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of an Order under subsection (1)(a) or (b) to be exercisable subject to a requirement for the function to be exercised with the agreement of, or after consultation with, a Minister of the Crown or other person.

Part III Financial Provisions

64 Scottish Consolidated Fund

(1) There shall be a Scottish Consolidated Fund.

(2) The Secretary of State shall from time to time make payments into the Fund out of money provided by Parliament of such amounts as he may determine.

(3) Sums received by an office-holder in the Scottish Administration shall be paid into the Fund.

(4) Subsection (3) is subject to any provision made by or under an Act of the Scottish Parliament for the disposal of or accounting for such sums.

(5) The Treasury may, after consulting with the Scottish Ministers, by order designate receipts of any description specified in the order which are payable into the Fund (or would be but for any provision made by or under an Act of the Scottish Parliament).

(6) The Scottish Ministers shall make payments to the Secretary of State, at such times and by such methods as the Treasury may from time to time determine, of sums equal to the total amount outstanding in respect of designated receipts.

(7) Amounts required for the payment of sums under subsection (6) shall be charged on the Fund.

(8) The Fund shall be held with the Paymaster General.

65 Payments out of the Fund

(1) A sum may only be paid out of the Scottish Consolidated Fund if--

(a) it has been charged on the Fund by any enactment,

(b) it is payable out of the Fund without further approval by virtue of this Act, or

(c) it is paid out for or in connection with any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (2) in accordance with rules made by or under an Act of the Scottish Parliament.

(2) Those purposes are--

(a) meeting expenditure of the Scottish Administration,

(b) meeting expenditure payable out of the Fund under any enactment.

(3) A sum paid out of the Fund shall not be applied for any purpose other than that for which it was charged or (as the case may be) paid out.

66 Borrowing by the Scottish Ministers etc

(1) The Scottish Ministers may borrow from the Secretary of State any sums required by them for the purpose of--

(a) meeting a temporary excess of sums paid out of the Scottish Consolidated Fund over sums paid into that Fund, or

(b) providing a working balance in the Fund.

(2) Amounts required for the repayment of, or the payment of interest on, sums borrowed under this section shall be charged on the Fund.

(3) Sums borrowed under this section shall be repaid to the Secretary of State at such times and by such methods, and interest on them shall be paid to him at such rates and at such times, as the Treasury may from time to time determine.

(4) A member of the Scottish Executive may borrow money only under this section or under any power conferred by any other Act of Parliament.

67 Lending by the Secretary of State

(1) The Treasury may issue to the Secretary of State out of the National Loans Fund such sums as are required by him for making loans under section 66.

(2) The aggregate at any time outstanding in respect of the principal of sums borrowed under that section shall not exceed £500 million.

(3) The Secretary of State may by order made with the consent of the Treasury substitute for the amount (or substituted amount) specified in subsection (2) such increased amount as may be specified in the order.

(4) Sums received by the Secretary of State under section 66(3) shall be paid into the National Loans Fund.

68 Borrowing by statutory bodies

(1) If a member of the Scottish Executive lends money to a body established under any enactment, the rate of interest on the loan shall not be less than the lowest rate determined by the Treasury under section 5 of the [1968 c. 13.] National Loans Act 1968 in respect of similar loans made out of the National Loans Fund on the day the loan is made.

(2) A body established under any enactment shall not, in pursuance of a power conferred by virtue of an Act of the Scottish Parliament, borrow money in a currency other than sterling except with the consent of the Scottish Ministers given with the approval of the Treasury.

69 The Auditor General for Scotland

(1) There shall be an Auditor General for Scotland who shall be an individual appointed by Her Majesty on the nomination of the Parliament.

(2) A recommendation shall not be made to Her Majesty for the removal from office of the Auditor General for Scotland unless the Parliament so resolves and, if the resolution is passed on a division, the number of members voting in favour is not less than two-thirds of the total number of seats for members of the Parliament.

(3) The validity of any act of the Auditor General for Scotland is not affected by any defect in his nomination by the Parliament.

(4) The Auditor General for Scotland shall not, in the exercise of any of his functions, be subject to the direction or control of any member of the Scottish Executive or of the Parliament.

(5) Subsection (4) does not apply in relation to any function conferred on him of preparing accounts.

70 Financial control, accounts and audit

(1) Scottish legislation shall provide--

(a) for proper accounts to be prepared by the Scottish Ministers, by the Lord Advocate and by other persons to whom sums are paid out of the Scottish Consolidated Fund, of their expenditure and receipts,

(b) for the Scottish Ministers to prepare an account of payments into and out of the Fund,

(c) for the Auditor General for Scotland to exercise, or ensure the exercise by other persons of, the functions mentioned in subsection (2),

(d) for access by persons exercising those functions to such documents as they may reasonably require,

(e) for members of the staff of the Scottish Administration designated for the purpose to be answerable to the Parliament in respect of the expenditure and receipts of each part of the Scottish Administration, and

(f) for the publication of parliamentary accounts and of reports on such accounts and for the laying of such accounts and reports before the Parliament.

(2) The functions referred to in subsection (1)(c) are--

(a) issuing credits for the payment of sums out of the Fund,

(b) examining parliamentary accounts (which includes determining whether sums paid out of the Fund have been paid out and applied in accordance with section 65), and certifying and reporting on them,

(c) carrying out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the Scottish Ministers and the Lord Advocate have used their resources in discharging their functions, and

(d) carrying out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which other persons determined under Scottish legislation to whom sums are paid out of the Fund have used those sums in discharging their functions.

(3) Standing orders shall provide for the consideration by the Parliament of accounts and reports laid before it in pursuance of subsection (1)(f).

(4) Scottish legislation may make further provision for the purpose of ensuring that persons who receive sums derived from the Fund are accountable including, in particular, provision for any person to whom subsection (1)(a) does not apply to be accountable for his expenditure and receipts in respect of functions for which he receives sums derived from the Fund.

(5) Persons (other than the Auditor General for Scotland) charged with the exercise of any function mentioned in subsection (2) or other like function conferred by Scottish legislation shall not, in the exercise of that or any ancillary function, be subject to the direction or control of any member of the Scottish Executive or of the Parliament.

(6) Scottish legislation may not require any cross-border public authority to prepare accounts if any other legislation requires--

(a) the authority to prepare accounts of its expenditure and receipts, and

(b) the accounts to be examined, certified and reported on by the Auditor General for Scotland, the Comptroller and Auditor General or a person appointed by either of them.

(7) Subsection (2)(b) does not apply to accounts prepared by the Auditor General for Scotland.

(8) This section does not require Scottish legislation to impose any requirement which is imposed by any other legislation.

(9) In this section--

"parliamentary accounts" means--
(a)
any accounts prepared in pursuance of subsection (1)(a) or (b), and
(b)
any accounts referred to in subsection (6) which are required to be examined, certified and reported on by the Auditor General for Scotland or any person appointed by him,
"Scottish legislation" means provision made by or under an Act of the Scottish Parliament and "other legislation" means provision made by any other enactment.

71 Existing debt

(1) Subsections (2) to (4) apply where--

(a) power to lend money under a provision of a pre-commencement enactment was exercised by the Secretary of State,

(b) the sums required by him for the exercise of the power were issued by the Treasury out of the National Loans Fund, and

(c) the power is exercisable by the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53, or would have been so exercisable but for the repeal of the pre-commencement enactment.

(2) Any amount payable by way of repayment of or interest on the loan shall be paid to the Scottish Ministers and into the Scottish Consolidated Fund (instead of to the Secretary of State and into the National Loans Fund).

(3) Amounts equal to those which are to be received by the Scottish Ministers in repayment of principal shall be treated as being amounts of advances made on the commencement of this section to the Scottish Ministers by the Secretary of State.

(4) Such advances shall be repaid to the Secretary of State at such times and by such methods, and interest on them shall be paid to him at such rates and at such times, as the Treasury may from time to time determine.

(5) Subsection (6) applies to any amount outstanding immediately before the commencement of this subsection in respect of the principal of the sum treated by virtue of section 2(3) of the [1973 c. 63.] Government Trading Funds Act 1973 as issued to the Registers of Scotland Executive Agency Trading Fund on the day on which the order establishing that fund came into force ("the issue date").

(6) The Secretary of State may, with the agreement of the Treasury, by order provide--

(a) for the amount to be treated as an advance made by him to the Scottish Ministers on the issue date, and

(b) for the advance to be repaid to him at such times and by such methods, and for interest on the advance to be paid to him at such rates and at such times, as were determined by the Treasury under section 2B(3) of that Act in respect of the sum referred to in subsection (5).

(7) Sums required to be paid under subsection (4) or (6) shall be charged on the Scottish Consolidated Fund.

(8) Sums received under subsection (4) or (6) shall be paid into the National Loans Fund.

72 Accounts of loans to the Scottish Ministers

The Secretary of State shall, for each financial year--

(a) prepare, in such form and manner as the Treasury may direct, an account of sums paid and received by him under sections 66, 67 and 71, and

(b) send the account to the Comptroller and Auditor General not later than the end of November in the following financial year,

and the Comptroller and Auditor General shall examine, certify and report on the account and shall lay copies of it and of his report before each House of Parliament.

Part IV The tax-varying power

73 Power to fix basic rate for Scottish taxpayers

(1) Subject to section 74, this section applies for any year of assessment for which income tax is charged if--

(a) the Parliament has passed a resolution providing for the percentage determined to be the basic rate for that year to be increased or reduced for Scottish taxpayers in accordance with the resolution,

(b) the increase or reduction provided for is confined to an increase or reduction by a number not exceeding three which is specified in the resolution and is either a whole number or half of a whole number, and

(2) Where this section applies for any year of assessment the Income Tax Acts (excluding this Part) shall have effect in relation to the income of Scottish taxpayers as if any rate determined by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to be the basic rate for that year were increased or reduced in accordance with the resolution of the Scottish Parliament.

(3) In subsection (2) the reference to the income of Scottish taxpayers does not include a reference to any income of Scottish taxpayers which, had it been income for the year 1998-99, would have been income to which section 1A of the [1988 c. 1.] Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1988 (income from savings and distributions) applied for that year.

(4) In this section--

(a) a reference, in relation to any year of assessment, to income tax being charged for that year includes a reference to the passing of a PCTA resolution that provides for the charging of that tax for that year, and

(b) a reference, in relation to a year of assessment, to the determination by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of a rate to be the basic rate for that year includes a reference to the passing of a PCTA resolution specifying a percentage to be the basic rate for that year.

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