The Advice and Assistance (Assistance by Way of Representation) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Advice and Assistance (Assistance by Way of Representation) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 15th January 2001.

(2) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the Advice and Assistance (Assistance by Way of Representation) (Scotland) Regulations 1997(1).

Amendment of the principal Regulations

2.  The principal Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following regulations.

3.  In regulation 1(2) (interpretation) of the principal Regulations, after the definition of “disciplinary proceedings” there shall be inserted–

““employment tribunal” means a tribunal established under section 1 of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996(2);”.

4.  In regulation 3 (application of Part II of the Act to assistance by way of representation: miscellaneous proceedings) of the principal Regulations, at the end of paragraph (k)(3), the full stop shall be omitted and there shall be inserted–

“;

(l) proceedings before an employment tribunal.”.

5.  In regulation 13 (assistance by way of representation requiring approval of the Board) of the principal Regulations–

(a) regulation 13 shall become paragraph (1) of that regulation;

(b) in paragraph (1), after “3(j)” there shall be inserted “, 3(l)”; and

(c) after paragraph (1), there shall be inserted–

“(2) The Board shall only approve the provision of assistance by way of representation in relation to the proceedings described in regulation 3(l) where it is satisfied that–

(a) the case is arguable;

(b) it is reasonable in the particular circumstances of the case that assistance by way of representation be made available; and

(c) the case is too complex to allow the applicant to present it to a minimum standard of effectiveness in person.

(3) The factors to be taken into account by the Board in determining whether paragraph (2)(c) above applies shall include–

(a) the determination of the issue may involve procedural difficulty or consideration of a substantial question of law, or of evidence of a complex or difficult nature;

(b) the applicant may be unable to understand the proceedings or to state his own case because of his age, inadequate knowledge of English, mental illness, other mental or physical disability, or otherwise;”.

JAMES WALLACE

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

9th January 2001