1 Introduction
1. This Report provides an overview of the work of
the Scottish Affairs Committee in the calendar year 2007. All
Departmental Select Committees now publish an annual report, detailing
the work they have done. In most cases, these are structured around
the ten 'core tasks' set for Select Committees by the Liaison
Committee (the Committee of Chairmen of all Select Committees).[1]
In the case of the Scottish Affairs Committee, as we have observed
in previous years, the ten core tasks are difficult to map onto
our remit, as devolution means that many responsibilities of the
former Scottish Office were transferred to the Scottish Executive.
For example, we are rarely involved in the scrutiny of draft legislation.
However, we do take this opportunity to reflect on the overarching
principles set out by the Liaison Committee and the ways in which
we have fulfilled them over the past twelve months.
2. We have undertaken a range of work in the past
year, which was dominated by our inquiry into Poverty in Scotland.
The breadth and scope of this inquiry were extensive and we decided,
therefore, to publish our Report in two volumes, the first of
which appeared at the end of 2007.[2]
On 3 May, elections to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish local
government took place. These elections were marred by a high proportion
of spoilt ballot papers. The Committee undertook to examine the
reasons for this as a matter of urgency and our inquiry into what
went wrong is ongoing. In July, we conducted our regular annual
scrutiny of public expenditure by the Scotland Office, hearing
evidence from the Secretary of State for Scotland, and in November
we published a Report on the Effects of tax increases on the
oil industry, stemming from evidence taken in Aberdeen and
at Westminster.[3] This
Report provides a summary of our work in each of these areas.
3. A major political development of 2007 was the
change of administration in Scotland. Following the Scottish Parliament
elections in May 2007, the Scottish National Party (SNP) formed
a minority government at Holyrood, taking over from the previous
Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition. For the first time, the governing
party at Westminster is not the largest party in the Scottish
Parliament. This situation will undoubtedly affect the work of
the Scotland Office, whose primary function is "to represent
Scottish interests in the formulation of policy in reserved areas".[4]
Indeed, during our evidence session on the Scotland Office Annual
Report, the Secretary of State for Scotland, Rt Hon Des Browne
MP said "It may well be that the current Scottish Executive
may challenge us to do more and, if they challenge us to do more,
then we may need to look at the particular capabilities and capacity
that we have".[5]
The change of administration will also have an impact on our own
work, and we will be keen to scrutinise the effect of 'cohabitation'
on the operation of devolution.
1 See Liason Committee, First Report of Session 2002-03,
Annual Report 2002-03, HC 558 (2002-03), Appendix 3. Back
2
Scottish Affairs Committee, Second Report of Session 2007-08,
Poverty in Scotland, HC 128-I. Back
3
Scottish Affairs Committee, First Report of Session 2007-08, Effects
of tax increases on the oil industry, HC 35. Back
4
Scotland Office, Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate
General for Scotland: Annual Report 2007, Cm 7109, p.3. Back
5
Oral evidence taken before the Scottish Affairs Committee on 17
July 2007, HC 943-i (2006-07), Q 3. Back
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