Coronavirus Act 2020

97 Reports by Secretary of State on status of non-devolved provisions of this Act

(1) The Secretary of State must—

(a) in respect of each reporting period, prepare and publish a report on the status of the provisions of Part 1 of this Act;

(b) include in the report a statement that the Secretary of State is satisfied that the status of those provisions is appropriate.

(2) A reference in this section to a provision of this Act is to the provision only so far as the Secretary of State is responsible for it (see subsection (6)).

(3) The references in subsection (1) to the “status” of a provision are to—

(a) whether the provision is in force at the end of the reporting period, and

(b) whether any power under the following provisions has been exercised by a Minister of the Crown in relation to it during that period (and, if so, which and how)—

(i) section 87(2) (regulations bringing provision into force);

(ii) section 88(1) or (3) (regulations suspending or reviving provision);

(iii) section 90(1) or (2) (regulations altering expiry date of provision).

(4) Each of the following is a “reporting period”—

(a) the period of 2 months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed;

(b) each successive period of 2 months that ends during the substantive operational period of this Act.

(5) The “substantive operational period of this Act” is —

(a) the two-year period mentioned in section 89(1), or

(b) if different, the period—

(i) beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, and

(ii) ending with the time of expiry of the provision of this Act which, by virtue of regulations made by a Minister of the Crown under section 90(2), expires the latest.

(6) The Secretary of State is responsible for a provision of this Act so far as—

(a) it extends to England and Wales and applies in relation to England;

(b) it—

(i) extends to England and Wales and applies in relation to Wales, or extends to Scotland or Northern Ireland, and

(ii) is outside devolved legislative competence in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland (as the case may be).

(7) A provision is “outside devolved legislative competence”—

(a) in relation to Wales, if it would not be within the legislative competence of the National Assembly for Wales if it were contained in an Act of that Assembly (assuming, in the case of provision that could only be made with the consent of a Minister of the Crown within the meaning of the Ministers of the Crown Act 1975, that such consent were given);

(b) in relation to Scotland, if it would not be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament if it were contained in an Act of that Parliament;

(c) in relation to Northern Ireland, if—

(i) it would not be within the legislative competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly, or

(ii) it would require the consent of the Secretary of State,

if it were contained in an Act of that Assembly.

(8) The Secretary of State must lay each report prepared under subsection (1) before Parliament.

(9) If the Secretary of State does not prepare and publish the report required by subsection (1) within 7 days beginning with the end of a reporting period, the Secretary of State must—

(a) explain why in a statement made in writing, and

(b) publish the statement.