Overview
Part 9 – Miscellaneous and general
Fees
Section 94: Fees for applications etc.
235.Subsection (1) allows the Scottish Ministers by regulations to make provision for the payment of a charge or fee to the licensing authority, the Scottish Ministers, a local authority, a person designated by the Scottish Ministers or a permit authority in respect of matters set out in subsection (2). Subsection (2) sets out the matters in respect of which the Scottish Ministers may provide for the payment of a charge or fee. Subsection (3) specifies matters that the regulations may in particular cover.
236.Subsection (4) clarifies that where regulations under subsection (1) provide for a fee to be charged in respect of any application made to persons specified in subsection (1), these persons need not consider the applications unless the fee is paid.
Local authority costs
Section 95: Strategy: local authority costs
237.Section 95 requires the Scottish Ministers to publish a strategy which specifies the costs that local authorities will incur as a result of performing their functions under the Act.
238.Subsection (2) specifies that, as a minimum, the strategy must specify the costs that local authorities will incur in meeting their duties under the Act; how the Scottish Ministers intend to fund local authorities to perform these duties; how the Scottish Ministers will ensure that local authorities have sufficient capacity to perform these duties; as well as any other matters that the Scottish Ministers consider relevant.
General
Section 96: Individual culpability where organisation commits offence
239.Section 96 provides that where an offence is committed by a relevant organisation and the commission of the offence involves the consent or connivance or is attributable to neglect on the part of the responsible individual, the responsible individual also commits the offence. Subsections (3) and (4) provide definitions of “relevant organisation” and “responsible individual”.
Section 97: Crown application: general
240.Subsection (1) provides that nothing in the Act makes the Crown criminally liable, although this does not affect the criminal liability of persons in service of the Crown (subsection (3)).
Section 98: Crown application: powers of entry
241.Section 98 provides that a power of entry conferred under the Act is exercisable in relation to Crown land specified in column 1 of the table only with the consent of the appropriate authority listed in column 2.
Section 99: Regulations
242.Subsection (1) provides that the powers of the Scottish Ministers to make regulations under the Act includes the power to make different provision for different purposes. Subsections (2) and (3) specify the regulation making powers under the Act that are subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure, with all other regulation making powers subject to the negative procedure (save for regulations to commencement provisions under section 102(2)).
Section 100: Ancillary provision
243.Section 100 provides the Scottish Ministers with a regulation making power to make any incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision that they consider appropriate for the purposes of, in connection with, or for giving full effect to the Act or any provision made under it.
Section 101: General Interpretation
244.Section 101 sets out various definitions for terms used throughout the Act.
Section 102: Commencement
245.Section 102 provides that sections, 97 to 101, 102 and 103 come into force on the day after Royal Assent and that the other provisions of the Act come into force on such day as the Scottish Ministers may by regulations appoint.
Section 103: Short title
246.Section 103 provides that the Act will be known as the Heat Networks (Scotland) Act 2021.