Memorandum submitted by the Ministry of
Justice
INTRODUCTION
1. The Committee has invited written submissions
of evidence on its inquiry into devolution. The Government welcomes
the chance to contribute to the discussion, after nearly 10 years
of successful devolution in Scotland and Wales and following on
from the successful restoration earlier in the year of devolution
in Northern Ireland.
2. The Government was elected on a platform
of constitutional reform and remains committed to delivering a
far reaching constitutional reform agenda. The Human Rights Act,
the Freedom of Information Act and the Constitutional Reform Act
were all introduced by this Government. They were aimed at protecting
existing rights, increasing transparency of decision making, and
updating, refreshing and safeguarding the relationships between
the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
3. Devolution sits squarely within this
wider constitutional reform agenda, and the devolution legislation
in 1998 and 2006 has introduced significant and much needed change
to the UK Constitution. The settlements in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland catered for specific demands for new democratic
institutions in those parts of the UK, while maintaining the sovereignty
of the UK Parliament in Westminster.
4. For Scotland, legislative devolution
built upon the distinctive Scottish institutions which remained
after the Union of 1707, including the legal and educational systems.
The extensive administrative devolution, built around the Office
of Secretary for Scotland from 1885, provided the basis for the
creation of the Scottish Executive and Parliament.
5. Wales has its own history within the
Union, and until the early twentieth century Wales and England
were administered as one. In 1964 the first Secretary of State
for Wales was appointed with his own department—the Welsh
Office—and over the ensuing thirty years or so its role
was progressively widened. The creation of the Welsh Assembly
in 1999 put those domestic Welsh policy matters under the democratic
control of the Assembly. The Government of Wales Act 2006 built
on the foundations of that settlement and provides for greater
devolution in Wales by increasing the legislative competence of
the National Assembly. The Act provides the National Assembly,
for the first time, with opportunities to seek from Parliament
legislative powers to pass Assembly Measures, a new type of legislation
specific to Wales, whilst also putting on statute the process
by which primary legislative powers could in future be granted
to the Assembly.
6. Northern Ireland has for many years been
served by a separate civil service, and separate Northern Ireland
departments have carried out the functions of their Whitehall
counterparts. Since the prorogation of the Stormont Parliament
in 1972, it has been the policy of successive Governments to seek
to find a way to restore devolution in Northern Ireland. In 1998
the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement paved the way for devolution
in 1999, restoring responsibility for a wide range of social and
economic matters to locally elected and locally accountable politicians
in the Assembly and power sharing Executive. Following restoration
of the devolved institutions in May 2007, work is underway to
complete the process of devolution with the transfer of policing
and justice powers in line with the St Andrews Agreement.
7. Devolution allows for the democratic
representatives of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to give
expression to the views of people in those nations, and to deal
with issues that are best dealt with at that level, whilst still
ensuring that UK issues are delivered by Westminster. The devolution
settlement is asymmetric, reflecting the different sizes, historic
backgrounds and aspirations of the different parts of the UK.
This is true of England too: that is why the Government created
the office of Mayor for London, and more recently Regional Ministers
as well as well as suggesting better Parliamentary oversight,
building on the existing decentralisation to English Regions.
8. Constitutional reform is an evolving
process, and the Government's reform programme continues with
the recently published Governance of Britain Green Paper. This
begins a national discussion on how we should hold power accountable,
and how we should uphold and enhance the rights and responsibilities
of the citizen throughout the United Kingdom.
THE BENEFITS
OF DEVOLUTION
9. Devolution strengthens the Union by allowing
a shared culture and a single UK identity to thrive alongside
distinctive national identities. Over generations, cross border
links between Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England have
forged our shared identity. But devolution has enabled individual
national identities better to be expressed.
10. At the heart of the Government's devolution
policy is the desire to develop flexible arrangements which will
accommodate different policy approaches on a wide range of domestic
matters in order to meet the specific wishes of people in Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. This basic principle is realised by
separate constitutional settlements in each of those places. These
arrangements have allowed devolution to work successfully in Scotland
and Wales for nearly ten years, alongside the sovereign UK Parliament
and, going forward, the Government's policy and objectives are
clear: the current flexible forms of devolution deliver benefits
and it is our wish to maintain them. Restored devolution in Northern
Ireland has delivered, for the first time, inclusive power sharing.
11. The Government believes that devolution
has delivered real benefits to people across the UK, providing
the right balance between responsibility, accountability and representation
while freeing the constituent parts of the United Kingdom to provide
innovative local solutions to the problems they face.
12. Differences in policy are an intrinsic
part of devolution. The Scottish Parliament enacted important
legislation in its last Session on a wide range of devolved matters,
including family law, fire services, Gaelic language, housing,
policing and criminal justice, transport, the smoking ban, health
improvement and education which it felt met the aspirations of
the people of Scotland. Similarly, the Welsh Assembly has delivered
for the people of Wales with policies such as free bus travel
for pensioners, free prescription charges for all and the opening
up of previously defunct rail lines. The creation of a Children's
Commissioner for Wales has been adopted elsewhere in the UK and
the new constitutional arrangements brought about by the Government
of Wales Act 2006 will allow the National Assembly to build upon
these achievements further.
13. In Northern Ireland the process of devolution
has delivered inclusive power sharing for the first time ever
and the Government is confident the Northern Ireland Assembly
will deliver important public service reforms for the people of
Northern Ireland. The Government remains committed to completing
the process of devolution, and is working to ensure it is ready
to transfer responsibility for policing and justice, in line with
the St Andrews Agreement, whenever the Assembly is ready to receive
it.
THE BENEFITS
OF THE
UNION
14. The Government believes in devolution
and it also believes in the Union. The Union benefits all the
people of the UK, reflecting our shared history and heritage.
It reinforces our common culture and supports our successful participation
in the global economy, our international standing, and strengthens
our security.
15. The peoples of the Union have shared
a common history over hundreds of years, during which we have
developed a common identity and shared values. This is seen in
the culture that we share, our common language, and, in practice,
in the ties of family and social relationships that bind the people
of the UK together.
16. The Union has also helped to deliver
a strong economy and the economic stability for all parts of the
UK which is essential to improved competitiveness and to meeting
the challenges of globalisation. All parts of the UK benefit from
being part of a larger economy which allows us to share opportunities,
maintain stability and share both risks and resources, to the
benefit of all.
17. Devolution delivers flexibility and
allows the devolved legislatures and administrations to deliver
distinct devolved policies. But it also allows key policies to
be delivered on a United Kingdom basis. For example, the macroeconomic
policy that supports a stable UK economy, a common social security
system, defence and counter terrorism matters, foreign affairs,and
immigration and asylum: all of these are best looked after by
a single Government taking a view for the entire UK. This is even
more important in meeting the challenges of an increasingly globalised
and uncertain world. In light of this, our Government defends
strongly the role played by Scottish and Welsh and Northern Ireland
Members of Parliament in Westminster to ensure the devolved territories'
views are represented in UK policy.
18. As we have mentioned devolution in the
UK is bound to be asymmetric, since that reflects the vastly different
sizes of the constituent nations. England is by far the largest
partner in the UK and that is why the idea of an English Parliament,
or that only English MPs should deal with English laws, is mistaken.
This is not a new question, and Parliament has always rightly
resisted change. Gladstone proposed the "in and out"
system for Irish MPs during the Parliamentary consideration of
the second Irish Home Rule Bill in 1893. In 1964 Harold Wilson
toyed with a similar idea, until the Attorney General of the time
reported that it was an unworkable proposition.
19. On each time the conclusion was that
the "in and out" solution would undermine the Union
and our Parliamentary system. Restricting the rights of Scottish,
Welsh or Northern Ireland members to vote on English issues leads
to constitutional instability. A UK Government elected on a UK
mandate might find itself unable to deliver key policies on which
it has been elected. United Kingdom Government Ministers might
find themselves unable to vote in support of measures for which
they have collective responsibility, or even to support measures
for which their department is responsible. There would be a fundamental
change to the nature of UK democracy.
20. The right place to legislate for England
is at Westminster. England has over 80% of the British population,
and of seats at Westminster. If they are so minded English MPs
can wholly determine English matters, and of course taxation as
well as the level of public expenditure in other parts of the
UK. Almost all Bills brought before the House of Commons have
financial implications or require money orders. Taxation is so
fundamental to government and to the economy of all the UK that
all MPs must be able to vote equally on all matters.
IMPACT OF
DEVOLUTION ON
GOVERNMENT
21. There are strong bilateral relationships
between the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government,
the Northern Ireland Executive and Whitehall Departments. The
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Offices continue to work
closely across Whitehall and with the Devolved Administrations
to ensure that good practice is followed and policies and legislation
are successfully implemented in a way that is consistent with
the respective settlements.
22. Government Departments have adapted
well to working in a different and complex political landscape,
and the divergence in policy making which is an inevitable, intended
by-product of devolution. Ultimately this has led to a more inclusive
approach to policy making and to legislative processes.
23. While the capacity for delivering different
outcomes is at the heart of Government's drive to devolve power,
there are frequently times where the same or similar outcomes
are desirable and the United Kingdom's governance arrangements
are flexible enough to deliver this without unnecessary duplication
or one legislature legislating against another. The fact that
differences of approach can coexist demonstrates the robustness
of the settlements and of the UK's constitutional arrangements
as a whole.
24. The broad principles set out in Departmental
concordats and the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK
government and the Devolved Administrations have remained consistent,
with a strong emphasis on communication and early information
sharing. Over the last eight years the concordats and the Memorandum
Of Understanding, and the processes behind these agreements, have
been shown to work. These documents act as a useful reference
tool to guide departmental interactions with the devolved administrations
and continue to provide an important expression of the principles
which underpin inter-governmental relations.
25. Those inter-governmental relations remain
strong. The Government is committed to continuing to work constructively
with the devolved administrations to ensure delivery of public
services across the United Kingdom that best meets local need.
With a new devolution settlement in Wales and restored devolution
in Northern Ireland, the Government is keen to ensure that its
strategy and co-ordination capabilities are able to respond effectively
to the three devolved administrations. Responsibility for devolution
strategy now sits in the Ministry of Justice, which works closely
with the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Offices and the
Cabinet Office, which has a co-ordinating role.
A CONTINUING AGENDA
FOR REFORM
26. A decade on, the UK Parliament remains
sovereign, but the Union now functions in a more inclusive and
consultative way. The UK Constitution has demonstrated its unique
flexibility and its capacity to evolve and to accommodate change
and the constitutional renewal agenda continues.
27. The Government is committed to continuing
devolution and decentralisation for the whole UK. It believes
in strong and accountable local Government. It has restored London
Government through the creation of the Greater London Authority,
and a Bill is currently is before the House strengthening the
powers of the London Mayor and Assembly. In London boroughs and
elsewhere, electors have the right to decide whether a Mayor will
lead their local Council.
28. Within England, the Government believes
a regional approach is necessary to analyse and address the causes
of economic disparity; to ensure planning and investment decisions
are properly integrated; and to co-ordinate issues which extend
beyond the boundaries of even the largest local authority.
29. The Government does not, however, believe
in a prescriptive or "one size fits all" approach. Respecting
the outcome of the November 2004 North East referendum, it has
no further plans for directly-elected regional bodies. Instead,
the July 2007 Review of sub-national economic development and
regeneration announced that reformed Regional Development Agencies
will work closely with local authorities and other partners to
develop a single integrated strategy for housing and economic
growth in their region. Regional Development Agencies will be
expected to delegate funding to local authorities, who will have
new powers and incentives encouraging them to work with other
delivery partners through Local Area Agreements and with other
Local Authorities through Multi Area Agreements. The Government
will consult later this year on how to implement these reforms.
The Prime Minister has appointed nine dedicated Regional Ministers,
helping strengthen the authority and visibility of Government
Offices as facilitators of partnership working in the regions
and localities. The Government is also working with Parliament
to agree how best to enhance parliamentary scrutiny of the work
of regional bodies.
30. The Governance of Britain Green
Paper published on 3 July sets out the Government's continued
commitment to the principles of devolution within a wider constitutional
context. It examines the challenges faced by an advanced democracy
in the 21st century and represents the beginning of a national
debate aimed at accelerating the process of constitutional reform.
Power should not just be devolved: it must also rest with the
local communities. Individuals and communities should not be seen
as passive recipients of services provided by the state. They
have demonstrated that they are willing to take a more active
role, which can both help and improve services and create stronger
communities.
31. The Government believes that it must
find new ways to enable people to become active citizens, empowered
and fully engaged in local decision-making. The Government will
enhance democracy by devolving more power directly to the people.
By rebalancing the way power is exercised, the Government hopes
to ensure that individual citizens feel more closely engaged with
those representing them, able to have their voice heard, active
in their communities and bound together by common ties.
32. The Government will continue to reform
the constitution to make it more relevant in a modern society,
to enable power to be distributed to the proper level, and to
safeguard rights. The devolution settlements in our constitutional
arrangements are asymmetrical, reflecting the different individual
historic circumstances, aspirations and economic and political
ties between the nations of the Union. This is one of the great
strengths of our national constitution.
October 2007
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