Coronavirus Acts: first report to Scottish Parliament (June 2020)

5. Further Reporting

5.1. The second Scottish Act received Royal Assent on 26 May 2020 and came into force on 27 May 2020.

5.2. Section 12 of the second Scottish Act requires Scottish Ministers to undertake a review of the operation of the provisions of Part 1 of that Act, with a view to considering whether those provisions remain necessary. It requires that every two months, following the end of the reporting period, that a report is prepared which sets out the status of the provisions under Part 1 of that Act, and which includes a statement from Scottish Ministers that they are satisfied that the status of those provisions is appropriate.

5.3. Section 14 of the second Scottish Act requires Scottish Ministers to report on all SSIs made by Scottish Ministers where the primary purposes relates to coronavirus. This does not apply to SSIs made by Scottish Ministers under the first or second Scottish Acts or the UK Act, as SSIs made under these Acts are already being reported on.

5.4. The first report on the second Scottish Act will be due following the end of the reporting period on 31 July 2020, which coincides with the reporting period of the Scottish Act. As such, the reporting timetables for both Scottish Acts can be operated together, and at the same time.

5.5. In addition to these further elements which will become part of our approach in the second reporting period, we will keep our overall approach to reporting under review in response to the requirements of the Scottish Parliament.