2 Background
Commission on Scottish Devolution
22. The Commission on Scottish Devolution, known
as, and hitherto referred to as 'the Calman Commission', was set
up in 2008 by the UK Government in response to a motion passed
by the Scottish Parliament, which called for an independent commission
to review devolution in Scotland. This motion was supported by
the opposition parties at Holyrood: Labour, the Conservatives
and the Liberal Democrats. It was explicitly designed as an attempt
to secure the position of Scotland within the UK, and was a counter-proposal
to the National Conversation established by the SNP Administration,
which included consideration of independence for Scotland as a
policy option.[38]
23. The terms of reference of the Calman Commission
were as follows:
To review the provisions of the Scotland Act
1998 in the light of experience and to recommend any changes to
the present constitutional arrangements that would enable the
Scottish Parliament to serve the people of Scotland better, that
would improve the financial accountability of the Scottish Parliament
and that would continue to secure the position of Scotland within
the United Kingdom.[39]
24. The Commission published its final report in
June 2009.[40] It concluded
that devolution had been "a real success" which worked
well in practice, and that "the Scottish Parliament had embedded
itself in both the constitution of the United Kingdom and the
consciousness of Scottish people. It is here to stay".[41]
The report included 63 recommendations on how devolution should
be developed, and these were grouped under four headings: i) strengthening
devolution, ii) strengthening cooperation, iii) strengthening
the Scottish Parliament, and iv) strengthening financial accountability.
The central conclusion of the Commission was that while devolution
had established a Parliament that could be held to account for
spending choices, that Parliament lacked accountability for raising
revenue.[42] A series
of recommendations were made to address this, including the devolution
of a flat rate of income tax and some other smaller taxes.[43]
25. The previous Government welcomed the Calman Commission's
Report and conclusions,[44]
and established a steering group, comprising Labour, Conservative
and Liberal Democrat representatives, in order to consider the
implementation of its recommendations. It published a White Paper,
Scotland's future in the United Kingdom: building on ten years
of Scottish devolution, on 25 November 2009.[45]
This included an intention to introduce legislation to take forward
the proposals, and detailed responses to the Commission's recommendations.
26. The Scottish Government also published a Scottish
Government response to the Commission on Scottish Devolution,
on 9 November 2009. It supported some recommendations of the Commission,
rejected others, and felt that many required further consideration.[46]
However, it also complained that "the remit of the Commission
was too narrow," so that "from the outset […]it
was clear that the Commission would not be able to consider the
proposition that Scotland should be an independent country. Federalism
was also outwith the Commission's remit".[47]
While the Scottish Government had reservations about a number
of proposals, it was most concerned about the Commission's recommendations
on income tax:
In the crucial area of finance and taxation the
Commission's report represents a missed opportunity particularly
to offer real and effective fiscal and economic levers for Scotland.
The Commission's proposals would deliver less transparency, less
accountability and would expose the Scottish Government's budget
to significant risks without adequate levers to offset these risks.[48]
The Scotland Bill 2010-11
27. Following the 2010 general election, the new
Government immediately committed itself to "implement the
proposals of the Calman Commission",[49]
and stated its intention to legislate in this area in the Queen's
Speech on 25 May 2010.[50]
The Bill was introduced in the Commons on 30 November. At the
same time, the Government published a Command Paper, Strengthening
Scotland's Future, which outlined how each of the recommendations
of the Calman Commission would be taken forward.[51]
In introducing the Bill, the Secretary of State for Scotland,
Rt Hon Michael Moore MP said:
The Scotland Bill demonstrates the determination
of the coalition Government to ensure that the Scottish Parliament
is empowered to meet the needs of the Scottish people. Both the
Bill and the accompanying Command Paper set out the bold reforms
the Government are taking to strengthen the Scottish Parliament
and the Scottish Government. Once the measures included in the
Scotland Bill and this paper are fully implemented, a historic
shift in power will have been accomplished. The Scottish Parliament
and Scottish Ministers will have more powers, be more accountable,
and be able to be more responsive to Scotland's needs within the
framework of a strong and stable United Kingdom.[52]
28. Dave Moxham, Deputy General Secretary, Scottish
Trade Union Congress (STUC) said that STUC members broadly supported
the Calman recommendations, and that "the Scotland Bill does
not do a bad job of attempting to translate that into legislation".[53]
Nevertheless, the Bill does not include all of Calman's recommendations.
Among those left out of the Bill are the recommendations for social
security and welfare reform, reform of charities legislation,
animal health, the welfare budget and food labelling. As our inquiry
has focused on the financial provisions, we did not fully consider
the merits or otherwise of the Government's position on these
issues. However, we did receive evidence on these issues, which
is published on our website. Furthermore, we raised some of these
issues during our oral evidence sessions, and took action on some
of these issues. For example, we asked David Mundell MP, Parliamentary
Under Secretary of State, to meet with the Scottish Federation
of Housing Associations (SFHA) in order to discuss, and consider
their specific concerns in relation to the provisions relating
to insolvency. The Minister met with them on 24 February, and
his feedback to us is printed with this Report.[54]
The Scottish Government's response
29. While we understand that the Scottish Government's
proposals have not been supported beyond a single political party
and are not representative of the views of the Scottish Parliament
as a whole, we nevertheless feel that we should pay some attention
to these views. Fiona Hyslop MSP, Minister for Culture and External
Affairs, Scottish Government, said that the Scottish Government
"welcomed the transfer of power within the Scotland Bill",
but had "obvious concerns" in relation to some aspects
of the Bill.[55] She
said:
The Bill, as it stands, takes away more powers
from the Scottish Parliament than it gives. The power that it
gives is on airguns, but it reserves three others—so for
one power given, three are taken away.[56]
30. In its Legislative Consent Memorandum on the
Scotland Bill, published on 1 December 2010, the Scottish Government
noted "its regret that the UK Government has not proposed
legislative measures to secure some of the recommendations of
the Calman Commission, including; to give Parliament a role in
benefits policy; to devolve marine nature conservation; to provide
a role for Scottish Ministers in directions to the Crown Estate
Commission; and to devolve Air Passenger Duty and Aggregates Levy".[57]
38 House of Commons Library, Scotland Bill,
Research Paper 11/06, 18 January 2011 Back
39
HC Deb 25 March 2008, cc7-8WS. Back
40
Commission on Scottish Devolution, Serving Scotland better:
Scotland and the United Kingdom in the 21st century,
June 2009. Back
41
Cm 7973, p 5. Back
42
Ev 14 Back
43
See text box on page 15. Back
44
HC Deb 15 June 2009, cols 5-7WS Back
45
Cm 7738 Back
46
According to Minister for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona
Hyslop, "There are 29 recommendations that we accept and
a further 20 that either need more clarification or relate to
the Parliament." SP OR 27 May 2010, c26630. Back
47
Scottish Government response to the Commission on Scottish
Devolution, 9 November 2009, paras 2-3 Back
48
Ibid., Annex A. Back
49
HM Government, The Coalition: our programme for government,
May 2010, p 28 Back
50
HC Deb 25 May 2010, col 32 Back
51
Cm 7973, November 2010. Back
52
HC Deb 30 November 2010, cc69-71WS. Back
53
Q 374 Back
54
Ev 139 Back
55
Q 694 Back
56
Q 695 Back
57
Scottish Government Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Scotland
Bill, LCM (S3)30.1, 1 December 2010, p 6 Back
|
