General
The intention behind this reservation is to reserve the matters for which the Employment Service is currently responsible under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 and the Employment and Training Act 1973.
Section 56(1)(g) provides for certain devolved functions under the 1973 Act to be shared powers so that the UK Ministers can continue after 1 July 1999 to provide, through the Employment Service, the kind of programmes of employment training assistance being provided by the Employment Service in Scotland prior to 1 July 1999.
Scottish Enterprise (SE) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) also have duties to assist people seeking work to obtain training for work which to some extent run parallel with the activities of the Employment Service. In order to allow the Scottish Parliament to have legislative competence over these activities of SE and HIE, and to accord with the general devolution of matters relating to economic development and training, training for employment is excepted from the reservation of the Employment and Training Act 1973.
The Scottish Parliament is able to legislate about careers guidance services. Provision for these services is made in sections 8-10A of the Employment and Training Act 1973, as inserted by sections 45 and 46 of the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993. These sections confer a duty on the Secretary of State to secure the provision of careers services for school and certain college students and a power to arrange provision of such services for other persons. The duty also extends to assisting such persons ceasing to undergo education to obtain appropriate employment, training or additional education. That duty, so far as extends to Scotland, has transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Act.