He proudly offered me a document. It said: ‘Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection 3 of Section A of Clause 214 of the Admin-
istrative Procedures (Scotland) Act 1978, it has been agreed that,
insofar as the implementation of the statutory provisions is con-
cerned, the resolution of anomalies and uncertainties between
responsible departments shall fall within the purview of the Minister
for Administrative Affairs.’
I gazed blankly at it for what seemed an eternity. My mind just
seemed to cloud over, as it used to at school when faced with Cae-
sar’s Gallic Wars or calculus. I longed to sleep. And it was only 9.15
a.m. I asked Bernard what it meant. He seemed puzzled by the ques-
tion. He glanced at his own copy of the document.
‘Well, Minister,’ he began, ‘it means that notwithstanding the pro-
visions of subsection 3 of Section A of Clause 214 of . . .’
I interrupted him. ‘Don’t read it to me,’ I said. ‘I’ve just read it to
you. What does it mean?’