Current devolution arrangements not fit for purpose, say MPs

Westminster - Image credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/

The current devolution arrangements are “not fit for purpose” and a new inter-governmental relationship mechanism should be “set out in statute”, MPs have said.

In a new report on devolution, the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee has said the UK and devolved governments should agree updated rules on where powers are held to avoid repeating the row which broke out over the Brexit bill.

The UK Government sparked accusations of a “power grab” from MSPs by pushing through the EU Withdrawal Bill despite the Scottish Parliament refusing to give consent to the bill.

Their report says there is “ambiguity” around the Sewel convention, which lays out that Westminster “would not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish parliament”.

The group said it was “highly regrettable” that there was “little consultation” with the devolved parliaments, and called for “clear statements of circumstances under which legislative consent is not required by the convention be set out”.

Much of the clash was based on UK ministers' plans to take powers returning to Britain from Brussels to Westminster initially, despite being in areas such as agriculture, which are normally devolved.

Under rules which followed the creation of the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood should have power over any area that is not expressly reserved to Westminster, a principle the report suggested the UK Government failed to recognise.

The committee called for ministers to draw up a ‘Devolution Policy for the Union’ document to reflect the changing nature of the UK's set-up following Brexit.

The proposal should be drawn up by the four parliaments and assemblies’ clerks as an inter-parliamentary body to scrutinise UK Common frameworks, they say.

PACAC Chair, Sir Bernard Jenkin, said: “Leaving the EU will change the UK’s constitutional arrangements, so it needs a re-think. 

“We recommend the Government sets out a clear devolution policy for the Union as we leave the EU.

“Failure to do this just prolongs misunderstandings which are the basis for more conflict.

“The present machinery for developing inter-governmental relations is flimsy, and there is nothing to give the various parts of England a say. Ignoring this risks the future relations within the UK.

“We set out a path to reconciling differences and building strong relationships across the UK, which recognises that many parts of England have more in common with parts of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland than they do with London and the South East.”

Responding to the report, Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations Mike Russell said: “The EU Withdrawal Act is a power grab on the Scottish Parliament and this report demonstrates that fundamental change is required within the UK Government to ensure devolution is respected.

“The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee concludes that: ‘Whitehall still operates extensively on the basis of a structure and culture which take little account of the realities of devolution in the UK*’.

“It seems astonishing that 20 years on from the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, the committee says training is still required within the UK Government to understand how devolution works.

“But more than training is needed. The Scottish Government has already said there needs to be a requirement in law for the Scottish Parliament’s consent before Westminster legislates on devolved issues.  

“Intergovernmental processes are clearly inadequate and we have already asked members of the Scottish Parliament for their views on how they can be improved.

by Liam Kirkaldy

Legal challenge over Scottish Parliament Brexit bill to begin

“There has been little meaningful engagement throughout this process and it is time the UK Government respected the views of the Scottish Parliament and abandoned its pursuit of a hard Brexit.”