Section 10: Regulations on student accommodation
52.This section confers a power on the Scottish Ministers to make regulations applying to the managers of student accommodation during the subsistence of threats to public health in Scotland.
53.Regulations under this section may require the restriction or prohibition of access to student accommodation premises (or part of such premises). The restriction or prohibition of access may be framed in terms of specified activities (for example, access could be permitted only for urgent student welfare reasons or for the carrying on of activities which are necessary for the continuing provision of education). Furthermore, the regulations may require actions to be taken by the managers of student accommodation in general terms, or may require particular actions to be taken by them.
54.Regulations under this section may also, alternatively or additionally to making provision on the restriction of access, require the managers of student accommodation to provide support for students in order to assist them to comply with any legal requirement relating to public health: an example would be a requirement to quarantine under Part 4 of the Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008. Support may also be required for students to assist them to follow public health guidance or advice from a public authority, for instance from the CMO; or to assist them to respond to specific requests or recommendations relating to public health from a public authority, for instance a recommendation from a health board for a student or group of students to self-isolate. The detail of what support should be provided will be set out in guidance.
55.Subsection (3) of this section sets out the preconditions for making regulations under this section: Ministers must have regard to any advice from the CMO about protecting public health, and, in that context, must also be satisfied that making the regulations is a necessary and proportionate action for or in connection with protecting public health.
56.Subsection (4) states that regulations under this section may provide that any failure of compliance by the managers of student accommodation with statutory or common law rules relating to education is to be disregarded where it is attributable to the regulations: the effect of this is that, where regulations under this section contain such provision, they effectively override other legal requirements while in force to the extent required by the regulations.
