PART VI
DEVOLUTION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
31 Establishment
of the Devolved Parliament and Assemblies
(1) There is established by this Constitution
a Parliament for Scotland, and an Assembly for Wales and for Northern
Ireland (the "devolved Parliament and Assemblies").
(2) In each case, the devolved Parliament and
Assemblies may provide for the names and official designation
of itself and its members.
(3) The devolved Parliament and Assemblies may,
subject to this Constitution and the exclusive powers of the national
legislative authority, make laws for the peace, order and good
government of its territory and the people resident within it.
(4) The devolved Parliament and Assemblies shall
hold their Executives, as provided for in Article 31, and the
public service supporting its work, to account.
(5) The term of the devolved Parliament and Assemblies
shall be four years, expiring twenty-one calendar days prior to
the date on which the election of members to them are required
by Act of Parliament.
(6) An Act of each of the devolved Parliament
and Assemblies shall make provision for -
(a) the number of its members and, subject to
Article 25 where applicable, the qualifications and disqualifications
for membership; and
(b) its electoral arrangements, consistent with
Articles 25 to 26 of this Constitution.
(7) The standing orders of the devolved Parliament
and Assemblies shall, subject to any Act passed by them, make
provision for -
(a) the nomination, mode of election and removal
of the Chief Executive;
(b) the election of a presiding officer from
among its members and for the tenure of that office;
(c) the requirements to be met by the Executive
in the presentation of policies and legislative proposals;
(d) the information to be made available by the
Executive to the devolved Parliament or Assembly;
(e) the disclosure of conflicts of interest by
members and the maintenance of a register of members' interests.
(8) A Bill of the devolved Parliament or the
Assemblies becomes an Act when it is passed by the affirmative
vote of a majority of its members voting and is so certified by
its presiding officer and Clerk.
(9) Nothing in this Constitution shall in any
way abrogate existing provisions guaranteed in perpetuity under
the Treaty and Acts of Union between Scotland and England in 1706
and 1707.
32 Legislative
Powers of the Devolved Parliament and Assemblies
(1) The devolved Parliament and Assemblies have
powers to make laws, in relation to their territory, with respect
to the following matters -
(a) agriculture and fisheries;
(b) arts and leisure;
(c) education;
(d) energy;
(e) the environment;
(f) health;
(g) housing;
(h) local government;
(i) policy and development;
(j) social welfare;
(k) trade and industry;
(l) transport.
(2) The Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland
Assembly, in addition, have powers to make laws, in relation to
their respective areas, with respect to the following matters
-
(a) the courts and legal services;
(b) tribunals and inquiries;
(c) civil law;
(d) crime;
(e) police and prisons.
(3) It is not within the powers of the devolved
Parliament and Assemblies to make any provision of law which -
(a) extends to any part of the United Kingdom
beyond its territorial boundaries, except in the case of the Assembly
of Wales in so far as is necessary to enable legal proceedings
to be brought to enforce the provision;
(b) has the effect of amending this Constitution;
(c) is inconsistent with any provision of European
Union law.
(4) Parliament may make laws with respect to
any matter that is within the legislative powers of the devolved
Parliament and Assemblies under this Article, if -
(a) that matter cannot be adequately regulated
by the devolved Parliament or Assembly itself; or
(b) the regulation of a matter by the devolved
Parliament or Assembly would prejudice the interests or interfere
with the rights of citizens of other parts of the United Kingdom.
(5) Where an Act of the devolved Parliament or
Assembly or any part thereof is inconsistent with an Act of Parliament,
the Act of Parliament prevails and the Act of the devolved Parliament
or Assembly or the inconsistent part thereof is void to the extent
of the inconsistency.
33 The
Devolved Executives
(1) There is established by this Constitution
an Executive for Scotland, for Wales, and for Northern Ireland.
(2) Each Executive shall consist of -
(a) a First Minister, who shall be elected by
the devolved Parliament or Assembly from among its members, in
accordance with its standing orders; and
(b) such members of the devolved Parliament or
Assembly as are appointed by the First Minister to be members
of the Executive.
(3) The Chief Executive may appoint members of
the devolved Parliament or Assembly to be assistants to the members
of the Executive.
(4) An Act of Parliament in respect of each of
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland shall make provision for
the number of the members of their Parliament or Assembly, as
the case may be, who may be appointed to be members of the Executive
or assistants to such members.
(5) In Scotland and Northern Ireland, notwithstanding
paragraph (2), the First Minister may appoint a person who is
not a member of the devolved Parliament or Assembly as a member
of the Executive to perform functions corresponding to those performed
by a Law Officer of the United Kingdom Government; and a member
of the Executive appointed under this paragraph may participate
in the proceedings of the devolved Parliament or Assembly but
shall not vote.
(6) Each Executive shall exercise the executive
powers of the United Kingdom Government with respect to all matters
which fall within the legislative competence of the appropriate
Parliament or Assembly as provided by this Constitution and such
other matters as Act of Parliament may prescribe.
(7) A member of an Executive is responsible for
the conduct of such business of the Executive as the First Minister
assigns to the member.
(8) A member of an Executive, or an assistant
to a member, ceases to hold office -
(a) if the member or assistant ceases to be a
member of the appropriate devolved Parliament or Assembly for
any reason other than the expiry of the term of the devolved Parliament
or Assembly; or
(b) if removed from office by the First Minister;
or
(c) on the receipt by the Chief Executive of
a letter of resignation from the member or assistant; or
(d) when a new election to the office of Chief
Executive is completed; or
(e) if a motion of no confidence in the Executive
is passed by a majority of all the members of the appropriate
devolved Parliament or Assembly.
(9) The government of the United Kingdom and
the Executive in Northern Ireland are under a duty to ensure compliance
with the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 10 April 1998 and
St Andrew's Agreement of 13 October 2006, and Acts of the United
Kingdom or Northern Ireland Assembly shall provide such regulation
as may be necessary for this purpose.
34 Devolved
Finance and Revenue
(a) In each of the devolved territories, there
shall be a Consolidated Fund and a Loans Fund, and sums may be
transferred from one to the other of these Funds on the authority
of the Executive, signified by the member of the Executive having
responsibility for finance.
(b) There shall be paid into the appropriate
Consolidated Fund the share of the personal income tax raised
in the United Kingdom allocated to it in accordance with a formula
laid down by Act of Parliament; and such other receipts of its
Executive that are not paid into the Loans Fund and have not been
disposed of and accounted for under an order under paragraph (d).
(c) Sums forming part of a Consolidated Fund
may be appropriated by an Executive only for purposes related
to those matters in which, under Article 33(6) the Executive may
exercise powers or to meet expenses incurred under Article 31(8).
(d) No order appropriating any sum shall be made
by an Executive unless a draft of the order appropriating that
sum has been laid before the appropriate Parliament or Assembly
to whom it is accountable and has been approved by a resolution
of the Parliament or Assembly.
(e) An Executive may request, and an Act of the
devolved Parliament or Assembly may authorise, a variable rate
of United Kingdom income tax by up to five pence in the pound
paid into its Consolidated Fund.
(f) An Executive may borrow such sums as appear
to the Executive to be necessary to meet expenditure approved
by the appropriate devolved Parliament or Assembly, provided that
-
(i) no such sums may be borrowed unless the borrowing
has been approved by a resolution of the appropriate devolved
Parliament or Assembly;
(ii) the total sums that may be borrowed in any
financial year under this Article shall not exceed one-third of
the annual expenditure approved by the appropriate devolved Parliament
or Assembly for that financial year.
(g) Sums forming part of a Loans Fund, and sums
forming part of the receipts of an Executive, may be appropriated
by order of the Executive, which shall provide with respect to
their disposal and accounting.
35 Principles
of Local Government
(1) The local authorities of the United Kingdom are
established by this Constitution under the principles set out
in the Code provided for in paragraph (2).
(2) There shall be a Code on Local-Central Relations,
setting out the freedoms, rights and duties of local authorities
to promote the wellbeing of their citizens and communities, and
the principles that regulate their independence, which shall declare
among other matters that -
(a) Elected local councils in England, Scotland,
Wales, and Northern Ireland are free and independent bodies, separate
and equal partners with Parliament in England and with their parent
Assemblies in the devolved territories, in the governance of the
state;
(b) Elected councils are free to determine the policies
and executive action on all local matters which are not reserved
by Act of Parliament or an Act of their parent devolved Parliament
or Assembly to the competence of some other authority, subject
always to the approval of their electors to whom they are accountable.
(3) The Code provided for in paragraph (2) shall
be presented to both Houses of Parliament for their approval every
five years, following consultation with local authorities and
the Assemblies (or their appropriate committee on local government),
but no revision to the principles contained in paragraph (1) may
be made without an amendment to this Constitution.
(4) The powers, functions and working of local
authorities shall be provided for by Act of Parliament with respect
to England, and by Act of the appropriate devolved Parliament
or Assembly in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, which shall
include provisions for -
(a) the boundaries for each local authority,
and their periodic review by Local Government Boundary Commissions
for each of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;
(b) voting and elections in local authorities,
including the timing of the elections and the qualifications and
disqualification of elected local councillors, subject to Articles
24 to 28;
(c) facilitating the functions required of a
local authority as expressed in the Code provided for in paragraph
2.
(5) A local authority -
(a) shall perform such functions as an Act of
Parliament with respect to England, and as an Act of the appropriate
parent devolved Parliament or Assembly with respect to Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland, shall determine; and
(b) has general competence to undertake whatever
measures it sees fit for the benefit of all those within its area,
including the making of bye-laws;
provided that, in performing such functions or undertaking
such measures, the local authority shall not act in conflict or
inconsistently with any legislation enacted by or under the authority
of Parliament or its parent devolved Parliament or Assembly.
(6) An Act of Parliament shall specify an assigned
percentage of national income tax revenue to be allocated for
local authorities and its distribution by the appropriate central
government department of state with respect to England and by
the Executives of the devolved Parliament or Assemblies with respect
to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
(7) Each local authority is entitled to levy
a tax upon domestic and business properties within its jurisdiction,
or raise any other form of local tax authorised by Act of Parliament
in accordance with an Act of Parliament in England and with an
Act of the appropriate parent devolved Parliament or Assembly
in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
| 
