02 Jul 2002
Scotland Office Minister Anne McGuire and Advocate General Lynda Clark today called on those considering the establishment of elected assemblies in English regions to look at the experience of how devolution and the ‘partnership of parliaments’ is working for Scotland.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Devolution in Practice’ at the Hansard Society Scotland Seminar in London, Mrs McGuire said:
"This Government has made tremendous strides in our programme of constitutional reform. The establishment of the Scottish Parliament was the biggest constitutional change for 300 years. It now means that Scotland has two Parliaments, Westminster and Holyrood, working in tandem to promote our interests.
"I would recommend that anyone looking at the Government’s proposals for elected assemblies in English regions should consider our experience in Scotland, as well as looking at Wales and Northern Ireland. While devolution is different in each part of the UK, there are many useful lessons to be learned from how it works in practice.
"Scotland has a parliament that delivers. Pre-devolution, the UK Parliament typically only considered one or two specifically Scottish Bills a year. The Scottish Parliament presents a completely different story – over 40 Bills passed in three years.
"Important reforms such as the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act, the Housing (Scotland) Act and the National Parks (Scotland) Act are real achievements benefiting the people of Scotland. Before devolution it would have been difficult if not impossible to find Parliamentary time for many of the reforms we have seen since July 1999.
"Constitutional reform is about bringing decision making and accountability closer to the people and finding local solutions for local problems. This Government has and is giving the people of the UK the chance to make their own decisions about the structure of Government and a stake in the key decision making processes that affect our everyday lives."
Dr Lynda Clark QC, Advocate General for Scotland said:
"The devolution of power from Westminster to Scotland should not be viewed in isolation, but in the context of the Government’s wider programme of democratic and constitutional renewal. Other elements include: devolution to Wales and Northern Ireland; an elected Mayor and strategic authority for London; incorporation into UK law of the European Convention on Human Rights; reform of the House of Lords; and Freedom of Information legislation.
"Devolution is about decentralisation of power, not separation. The Government and the Scottish Government are responsible for different but complementary areas of policy. The Scottish Parliament allows many issues which concern Scots to be considered more fully than was possible before. Devolution allows for distinctively Scottish measures to be developed more easily in Scotland. Scotland is no longer the only democratic country with its own legal system but no legislature of its own.
"This partnership between the Scottish and UK institutions is governed and structured by the Scotland Act. The Act sets the boundary between the responsibilities of Westminster and those of Holyrood. The mechanisms of the Act operate to resolve disputes as to legislative competence, both informally by dialogue between administrations and ultimately by the courts. It is a system that has worked well and serves the needs of both Scotland and the UK."
NOTES FOR NEWS EDITORS
1. The seminar was addressed by Anne McGuire, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Scotland Office, and by Dr Lynda Clark QC MP, the Advocate General for Scotland. The Advocate General is the UK Law Officer responsible for advising the Government on Scots legal issues, as explained by the Scotland Act 1998.
2. The Hansard Society Scotland Seminar aims to explain the process o devolution in Scotland to MPs in the light of the recent publication of the English Regional Governance White Paper.
3. The Seminar was attended by MPs from different parts of the UK.
4. The Seminar is chaired by Michael Clancy, Chairman of the Hansard Society Scotland.
5. For further information on the Hansard Society visit www.hansard-society.org.uk
6. The White Paper ‘Your Region, Your Choice’,published on 9 May by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and DTLR, sets outthe Government’s proposals for establishing elected assemblies in the English regions.