Section 31 – Relevant authorities
77.Section 31(1) provides that the persons listed in schedule 2 are “relevant authorities” for the purposes of Part 4 (subject to subsection (3)). Subsection (2) allows the Scottish Ministers to modify schedule 2 by order. Subsection (3) provides that the Commissioner for Children and Young People in Scotland and a body which is a “post-16 education body” for the purposes of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 are not relevant authorities for the purposes of section 29 – they are therefore not subject to the duty to comply with directions issued under that section. Subsection (4) provides that an order under subsection (2) which adds a person to schedule 2, may modify this section so as to provide that the person is not a relevant authority for the purposes of section 29 – this similarly allows the duty to comply with directions to be disapplied if required.