SECTION 122: Crown land.
Purpose and Effect
This section modifies references to a Minister of the Crown or a government department in
any provision about the application of any pre-commencement enactment to Crown land.
General
This section forms part of a set of sections dealing with property matters. Sections 59 and 61 make provision for the holding of property and liabilities by the Scottish Ministers and the Lord Advocate. Sections 60 and 62 enable subordinate legislation to provide for the transfer of certain property and liabilities to the Scottish Ministers in connection with the exercise of their devolved functions and to the Lord Advocate in connection with the exercise of his retained functions. Section 123 extends the exemption from payment of stamp duty to the Scottish Ministers, the Lord Advocate and the Scottish Parliamentary Composite Body.
Details of Provisions
Subsection (1) provides that any references to a Minister of the Crown or government department in any provision about the application of any pre-commencement enactment to Crown land should be read as including the Scottish Ministers and the Lord Advocate.
It also provides that references in such provisions to a Minister of the Crown or government department having the management of the land includes any member of the Scottish Executive having the management of the land. This ensures that provisions in existing enactments applying to Crown land also apply in relation to land belonging to or being managed by members of the Scottish Executive.
Subsection (2) defines “Crown land” as having the meaning given by section 242 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, that is land in which there is a Crown interest which means an interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or to a government department or held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department.
