(1) There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament--

(a) any expenditure incurred by a Minister of the Crown by virtue of this Act, and

(b) any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable out of money so provided under any other enactment.

(2) There shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund any sums received by a Minister of the Crown by virtue of this Act which are not payable into the National Loans Fund.

129 Transitional provisions etc

(1) Subordinate legislation may make such provision as the person making the legislation considers necessary or expedient for transitory or transitional purposes in connection with the coming into force of any provision of this Act.

(2) If any of the following provisions come into force before the [1998 c. 42.] Human Rights Act 1998 has come into force (or come fully into force), the provision shall have effect until the time when that Act is fully in force as it will have effect after that time: sections 29(2)(d), 57(2) and (3), 100 and 126(1) and Schedule 6.

130 Commencement

(1) Sections 19 to 43, Parts II to V, sections 117 to 124 and section 125 (except so far as relating to paragraphs 10, 11, 19 and 23(1) and (6) of Schedule 8) shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint.

(2) Different days may be appointed under this section for different purposes.

131 Extent

Section 25 extends only to Scotland.

132 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Scotland Act 1998.

SCHEDULES

Section 1.

SCHEDULE 1 Constituencies, regions and regional members

General

1 The constituencies for the purposes of this Act are--

(a) the Orkney Islands,

(b) the Shetland Islands, and

(c) the parliamentary constituencies in Scotland, except a parliamentary constituency including either of those islands.

2 (1) There shall be eight regions for the purposes of this Act.

(2) Those regions shall be the eight European Parliamentary constituencies which were provided for by the [S.I. 1996/1926.] European Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 1996.

(3) Seven regional members shall be returned for each region.

(4) Sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) are subject to any Order in Council under the [1986 c. 56.] Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 (referred to in this Schedule as the 1986 Act), as that Act is extended by this Schedule.

Reports of Boundary Commission

3 (1) This paragraph applies where the Boundary Commission for Scotland (referred to in this Schedule as the Commission) submit a report to the Secretary of State under section 3(1) or (3) of the 1986 Act recommending any alteration in any parliamentary constituencies.

(2) In the report the Commission shall recommend any alteration--

(a) in any of the regions, or

(b) in the number of regional members to be returned for any of the regions,

which, in their opinion, is required to be made in order to give effect to the rules in paragraph 7.

(3) If in the case of a report under section 3(1) or (3) of that Act the Commission do not make any recommendation within sub-paragraph (2), they shall in the report state that, in their opinion, no such alteration is required.

(4) A report making a recommendation for an alteration in any region shall state--

(a) the name by which the Commission recommend that the region should be known, and

(b) the number of regional members to be returned for the region.

(5) The Commission shall lay any report recommending any alteration in parliamentary constituencies before the Parliament.

4 (1) An Order in Council under section 4 of the 1986 Act which has the effect of making any alteration in any constituency of the Parliament, or makes any alteration within paragraph 3(2), may come into force for the purposes of any election for membership of the Parliament on a different day from the day on which it comes into force for the purposes of any parliamentary election; and paragraph 1(c) shall be read accordingly.

(2) The coming into force of such an Order, so far as it has the effect of making any alteration in any constituency of the Parliament or makes any alteration within paragraph 3(2), shall not affect the return of any member of the Parliament, or its constitution, until the Parliament is dissolved.

Notices

5 (1) Where the Commission have provisionally determined to make recommendations affecting any region, they shall publish in at least one newspaper circulating in the region a notice stating--

(a) the effect of the proposed recommendations and (except in a case where they propose to recommend that no alteration within paragraph 3(2) be made) that a copy of the recommendations is open to inspection at a specified place or places within the region, and

(b) that representations with respect to the proposed recommendations may be made to the Commission within one month after the publication of the notice;

and the Commission shall take into consideration any representations duly made in accordance with any such notice.

(2) Where the Commission revise any proposed recommendations after publishing notice of them under sub-paragraph (1), the Commission shall comply again with that sub-paragraph in relation to the revised recommendations, as if no earlier notice had been published.

Local inquiries

6 (1) The Commission may, if they think fit, cause a local inquiry to be held in respect of any region.

(2) If, on the publication of a notice under paragraph 5(1) of a recommendation for any alteration within paragraph 3(2), the Commission receive any representation objecting to the proposed recommendation--

(a) from an interested authority, or

(b) from a body of electors numbering 500 or more,

the Commission shall not make the recommendation unless a local inquiry has been held in respect of the region since the publication of the notice.

(3) If a local inquiry was held in respect of the region before the publication of the notice under paragraph 5(1), sub-paragraph (2) shall not apply if the Commission, after considering the matters discussed at the local inquiry, the nature of the representations received on the publication of the notice and any other relevant circumstances, are of the opinion that a further local inquiry would not be justified.

(4) In this paragraph, in relation to any recommendation--

• "interested authority" means the council for an area which is wholly or partly included in the region affected by the recommendation, and

• "elector" means an elector for the purposes of an election for membership of the Parliament in any constituency included in the region.

(5) Sections 210(4) and (5) of the [1973 c. 65.] Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (attendance of witnesses at inquiries) shall apply in relation to any local inquiry held under this paragraph.

The rules

7 (1) The rules referred to in paragraph 3 are:

1 A constituency shall fall wholly within a region.

2 The regional electorate of any region shall be as near the regional electorate of each of the other regions as is reasonably practicable having regard, where appropriate, to special geographical considerations.

3 So far as reasonably practicable, the ratio which the number of regional member seats bears to the number of constituency member seats shall be 56 to 73.

4 The number of regional member seats for a region shall be--

(a) one eighth of the total number of regional member seats, or

(b) (if that total number is not exactly divisible by eight) either one eighth of the highest number which is less than that total number and exactly divisible by eight or the number produced by adding one to one eighth of that highest number (as provided by sub-paragraphs (2) to (4)).

(2) If the total number of regional member seats is not exactly divisible by eight, the Commission shall calculate the difference between--

(a) the total number of regional member seats, and

(b) the highest number which is less than that total number and exactly divisible by eight,

and that is the number of residual seats to be allocated by the Commission.

(3) The Commission shall not allocate more than one residual seat for a region.

(4) The Commission shall divide the regional electorate for each region by the aggregate of--

(a) the number of constituencies in the region, and

(b) one eighth of the highest number which is less than the total number of regional member seats and exactly divisible by eight,

and, in allocating the residual seat or seats for a region or regions, shall have regard to the desirability of allocating the residual seat or seats to the region or regions for which that calculation produces the highest number or numbers.

8 (1) For the purposes of any report of the Commission in relation to a region, the regional electorate is the number of persons--

(a) whose names appear on the enumeration date on the registers of local government electors, and

(b) who are registered at addresses within a constituency included in the region.

(2) In sub-paragraph (1), "the enumeration date" means the date on which the notice about the report is published in accordance with section 5(1) of the 1986 Act.

Section 21.

SCHEDULE 2 Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Membership

1 A person appointed under section 21(2)(b) shall hold office until another member of the Parliament is appointed in his place unless he previously resigns, ceases to be a member of the Parliament otherwise than by virtue of a dissolution or is removed from office by resolution of the Parliament.

Property

2 (1) The corporation may hold property.

(2) Subordinate legislation may provide--

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

(b) for the corporation 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).

(3) Subordinate legislation under sub-paragraph (2) in relation to any property may provide for the transfer to the corporation of any liabilities relating to the property to which a Minister of the Crown or government department is subject and which subsist immediately before the subordinate legislation comes into force.

(4) Subordinate legislation under sub-paragraph (2) may only be made if the person making the legislation considers it appropriate to do so to enable the corporation to exercise its functions or to facilitate their exercise or in connection with their exercise or proposed exercise.

Staff

3 (1) The corporation shall appoint Assistant Clerks and may appoint other staff.

(2) The Clerk and other persons appointed by the corporation are referred to in this Act as the staff of the Parliament.

(3) It is for the corporation to determine the terms and conditions of appointment of the staff of the Parliament, including arrangements for the payment of pensions, gratuities or allowances to, or in respect of, any person who has ceased to be a member of the staff of the Parliament.

(4) In particular, the corporation may--

(a) make contributions or payments towards provision for such pensions, gratuities or allowances,

(b) establish and administer one or more pension schemes.

Powers

4 (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (4), the corporation may do anything which appears to it to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of or in connection with the discharge of its functions.

(2) That includes, in particular--

(a) entering into contracts,

(b) charging for goods or services,

(c) investing sums not immediately required in relation to the discharge of its functions, and

(d) accepting gifts.

(3) The corporation may sell goods or provide services, and may make arrangements for the sale of goods or provision of services, to the public.

(4) The corporation may borrow sums in sterling by way of overdraft or otherwise for the purpose of meeting a temporary excess of expenditure over sums otherwise available to meet that expenditure.

(5) The corporation may borrow money only under sub-paragraph (4) and may borrow under that sub-paragraph only in accordance with the special or general approval of the Parliament.

Delegation

5 The corporation may delegate any of its functions to the Presiding Officer or the Clerk.

Proceedings and business

6 (1) The validity of any act of the corporation shall not be affected by any vacancy among the members, or by any defect in the appointment, or qualification for membership, of any member.

(2) The corporation may determine its own procedure.

(3) The Presiding Officer shall preside at meetings of the corporation, but the corporation may appoint another of its members to preside if the office of Presiding Officer is vacant or the Presiding Officer is for any reason unable to act.

Crown status

7 (1) Her Majesty may by Order in Council provide for the corporation to be treated to any extent as a Crown body for the purposes of any enactment.

(2) In particular, the Order may for the purposes of any enactment provide--

(a) for employment under the corporation to be treated as employment under the corporation as a Crown body,

(b) for land held, used or managed by the corporation, or operations carried out by or on behalf of the corporation, to be treated (as the case may be) as land held, used or managed, or operations carried out by or on behalf of, the corporation as a Crown body.

(3) For the purposes of this paragraph, "Crown body" means a body which is the servant or agent of the Crown, and includes a government department.

Section 22.

SCHEDULE 3 Standing orders – further provision

Preservation of order

1 (1) The standing orders shall include provision for preserving order in the proceedings of the Parliament, including provision for--

(a) preventing conduct which would constitute a criminal offence or contempt of court, and

(b) a sub judice rule.

(2) Such provision may provide for excluding a member of the Parliament from proceedings.

Withdrawal of rights and privileges

2 The standing orders may include provision for withdrawing from a member of the Parliament his rights and privileges as a member.

Proceedings to be in public

3 (1) The standing orders shall include provision requiring the proceedings of the Parliament to be held in public, except in such circumstances as the standing orders may provide.

(2) The standing orders may include provision as to the conditions to be complied with by any member of the public attending the proceedings, including provision for excluding from the proceedings any member of the public who does not comply with those conditions.

Reporting and publishing proceedings

4 The standing orders shall include provision for reporting the proceedings of the Parliament and for publishing the reports.

The Presiding Officer and deputies

5 The standing orders shall include provision for ensuring that the Presiding Officer and deputies do not all represent the same political party.

Committees

6 (1) Standing orders which provide for the appointment of committees may include provision for those committees to have power to appoint sub-committees.

(2) The standing orders shall include provision for ensuring that, in appointing members to committees and sub-committees, regard is had to the balance of political parties in the Parliament.

(3) The standing orders may include provision for excluding from the proceedings of a committee or sub-committee a member of the Parliament who is not a member of the committee or sub-committee.

Crown interests

7 The standing orders shall include provision for ensuring that a Bill containing provisions which would, if the Bill were a Bill for an Act of Parliament, require the consent of Her Majesty, the Prince and Steward of Scotland or the Duke of Cornwall shall not pass unless such consent has been signified to the Parliament.

Sections 29 and 53(4).

SCHEDULE 4 Enactments etc. protected from modification

Part I The protected provisions

Particular enactments

1 (1) An Act of the Scottish Parliament cannot modify, or confer power by subordinate legislation to modify, any of the following provisions.

(2) The provisions are--

(a) Articles 4 and 6 of the [1706 c. 11.] Union with Scotland Act 1706 and of the [1707 c. 7(S).] Union with England Act 1707 so far as they relate to freedom of trade,

(b) the [1936 c. 52.] Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936,

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