New devolution settlement “unacceptable” say unions

The New Scottish Parliament Powers Bill, unveiled this morning by the UK Government, has provoked an angry response from the Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC).

General Secretary Grahame Smith said the organisation was not given forward sight of the paper despite being represented on a stakeholder group organised by the Scottish Office.

"STUC will now analyse this paper in some detail, however it is already clear that in key areas such as welfare and capital borrowing, the recommendations will not match the intentions of the Smith Commission proposals,” he said.

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy told the BBC's Daily Politics he felt the vow laid out before the referendum had been met "in full". In First Minster's Questions Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie called the proposals "home rule", and while First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said while she welcomed new powers "as far as they go", there had been "significant watering down" of the proposals outlined by the Smith Commission.

She added there are a number of restrictions on welfare powers outlined in the new bill, including a veto over certain powers on welfare.

Smith said: “It is unacceptable that the Scottish Parliament should require Westminster approval to create new benefit entitlements in Scotland.  The current proposals will also seriously hamper the ability of the Scottish Parliament to make different fiscal choices by tying Scotland to UK deficit reduction targets. Given that the STUC was underwhelmed by totality of the Smith Commission proposals, this further watering down of the promise that was made to voters in Scotland is unacceptable.”

The STUC also called for further full public consultation was needed on the process.

Meanwhile Citizen's Advice Scotland (CAS) said it was "disappointed and bewildered" by the bill. CAS Chief Executive Margaret Lynch said: “The Smith Commission led us to believe the Scottish Government could craft its own welfare system, outside of Universal Credit, taking into account the needs of Scotland. It seems now that offer has been withdrawn.”