12 May 2009
The Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy today welcomed the tenth anniversary of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.
He said :
"Ten years ago today the Scottish Parliament met for the first time in nearly 300 years. It was the culmination of years of campaigning and hard work to introduce a devolution settlement that was the 'settled will' of the Scottish people. I am proud to be part of the Government that delivered this long held ambition just as I am proud now to be the Secretary of State whose role is to protect that devolution settlement and make it work for Scotland.
"The creation of the Scottish Parliament with its legislative powers and 129 MSPs and the Scottish Government with its executive powers are the most obvious products of the devolution settlement.
"It is worth remembering, however, that there is another side to that settlement that also works for Scotland. That is the side which sees the UK Parliament still pass many important laws in Scotland in reserved areas. Then there are also the areas where the two parliaments work together to produce improved laws for Scotland.
"Some people may be surprised to see the extent to which the UK Parliament legislates in Scotland. Above all though, it is a reminder of the strengths of devolution and the benefits for Scotland of having two parliaments working for us."
A Short Guide to Legislation and the Devolution Settlement
Orders:
Since 1999- 170 Orders have been made under the Scotland Act to manage the devolution settlement (not all by the SO):
* Scotland Office is responsible for managing the devolution settlement and its Ministers do so using the order-making powers within the Scotland Act.
* This is an important part of making this flexible devolution settlement work: responding to legislation out of Holyrood and where there is a practical and sensible reason to do so altering the settlement at the margins to allow powers and functions to be exercised by Scottish Parliament and Scottish Ministers, or vice versa
* These Orders demonstrate the Government's pragmatic approach to the devolution settlement and the flexibility contained within the Scotland Act which Scotland Office Ministers have used to ensure that the devolution settlement deliver for the people of Scotland.
* The Scotland Office is currently working on legislation under the Scotland Act which will facilitate key devolved policies in Scotland such as the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and measures to ensure that kerb-crawlers are disqualified from driving.
* The introduction of the Single Survey in Scotland in 2008 was reliant on an Order made by Scotland Office Ministers at Westminster.
* The Scotland Office will be taking forward two pieces of secondary legislation under the Scotland Act 1998 to facilitate the delivery of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. These will protect the intellectual property rights of the games and prohibit ticket touting in the rest of the United Kingdom.
* We are currently taking three Orders through Parliament
Orders made under the Scotland Act are typically used to:
* devolve further powers to the Scottish Parliament
* executively devolve powers to Scottish Ministers
* make modifications to reserved statute to reflect changes in Scotland
* allow UK and Scottish Ministers to make arrangements to exercise each others functions
* provide for the conduct and regulation of Scottish Parliament elections
Powers
Where there has been a clear case to devolve further legislative or executive powers to the Scottish Parliament or Scottish Ministers, the Government has agreed to do so. An example of this was an Order taken forward in 2004 under section 30(2) which gave the Scottish Parliament legislative competence over the promotion and construction of railways that are wholly within Scotland.
The Sewel Convention/ LCMs
* The recent LCM for the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill was the 100th LCM tabled in the Scottish Parliament.
* In the last session there were 10 LCMs for UK Bills legislating in devolved areas- more LCMs in than any single previous session.
* So far in this session Holyrood has passed 6 LCM for UK Bills
* The purpose of the Sewel Convention is to safeguard the competence of the UK Parliament and the Government has stuck by the Convention.
UK Bills extend to Scotland on devolved matters when:
* It is necessary to have a consistent UK framework e.g. to tackle climate change
* To things the Scottish Parliament doesn't have the right legislative vehicle at the time to do itself
* make legislation work in the best way for people across Scotland and the UK
* The LCM on the UK Climate Change Bill in the last session is a good example joint-working between UK and Scottish Ministers at its best to deliver a common goal to all.
* If the Scottish Parliament does not wish the UK Bill to include the relevant provisions it is at liberty to withhold its consent.
The role of the UK Parliament in Scotland
* The UK Parliament continues to legislate on reserved and devolved matter for the entire UK
* 11 new Bills are highlighted in the 2008 Queen's Speech, all apply to Scotland
* So far a total of 15 UK Government Bills in this session extend to Scotland.
* In the 2007 Queen's Speech there were 25 Bills announced, 22 of them applied in Scotland.
Scottish Parliament legislation:
* In the first Scottish Parliament passed 62 Bills
* In the second it passed 65
* In the 2007-08 session the Scottish Parliament passed 7 Scottish Bills (including budget) and passed 10 LCMs for UK Bills
2007-08 LCMs included:
Climate Change Bill:
* this is a devolved matter in Scotland, but at the outset of devolution Climate Change was not recognised to be the global challenge that we now know it be.
* The Bill placed duties Scottish Ministers contribute towards a wider UK target.
* The decision to pursue one single piece of legislation at Westminster with the agreement of all, rather than separate measures in the devolved legislatures responsible for the environment in their specific areas is a fantastic example of co-operation and the relevance and power the United Kingdom Parliament has to play.
* Support for a single piece of UK legislation bringing in a challenging target for carbon reduction by 2050 is a fantastic example of Legislative Consent Motions making a real difference.
* Demonstrating how we can achieve a bigger result by working together across the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations.
The Dormant Bank Accounts Bill:
* This UK Government Bill made it possible for funds in dormant bank and building society accounts available for use for good causes including youth services.
* Provisions in this Bill, approved by a LCM in the Scottish Parliament, gave Scottish Ministers the ability to determine how these funds should be spent in Scotland, targeting the money to the most worthy and deserving causes.
In this session good examples are:
Policing and Crime Bill:
* The Bill included measures (approved by an LCM) to ensure that English and Welsh Football Banning Orders are recognised and enforceable in Scotland.
Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill:
* This Bill includes measures which were approved by an LCM that ensure that Immigration Officers in Scotland are able to detain people they come across who have an outstanding warrant for non-immigration offences
* Immigration Officers will be able to detain such people prior to the arrival of the police.
* This will ensure that Immigration Officers in Scotland have the same powers as their counterparts in the rest of the UK
Marine and Coastal Access:
* Provided for a strong UK-wide framework to protect and manage the marine environment in comprehensive way.
* The Bill ensures that UK and Scottish Ministers work together to achieve these goals