Brexit exposes unresolved devolution questions, MPs report

Brexit is exposing key constitutional questions and ambiguities in relation to the devolution settlements in the UK which need to be urgently addressed, a committee of MPs has reported today.

Devolution has to be treated with respect to maintain the ntegrity of the UK, according to the House of Commons Public Administration & Constitutional Affairs Committee, which takes the UK Government to task for a "highly regrettable" lack of consultation over the terms of the EU Withdrawal Bill – consultation which "could have avoided much of the acrimony that was generated". Draft UK legislation that covers a devolved competence should be shared with devolved Governments to identify and work through issues in advance, the MPs state.

It further claims that the current forum for inter-governmental talks is "not fit for purpose" and no longer sustainable, needing reform to avoid further risk to the Union; and a new system for inter-parliamentary scrutiny needs to be established to hold the Governments of the UK to account.

And it finds "considerable ambiguity" surrounding the Sewel convention and that the Government chose to interpret the convention in such a way that the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament was deemed unnecessary. The MPs call for clear statements of circumstances under which legislative consent is not required by the convention be set out.

A continuing failure to address the questions of England's place in the UK constitution and how the different parts of England will be represented "risks a sense of increasing disconnection of the English people from the political system", and the Government should set out, as part of a published "Devolution Policy for the Union", a clear statement of how the different parts of England should be fairly and effectively represented. It should also consider devolving whole areas of competence, rather than piecemeal powers, within England.

While the committee was pleased that the final form of the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 addressed some of the concerns of the devolved administrations, it is important that the Government recognise that the reserved powers model of devolution means that powers are devolved by default and not conferred by the UK Parliament.

Committee chair Sir Bernard Jenkin commented: "Leaving the EU will change the UK's constitutional arrangements, so it needs a rethink.

"We recommend the Government sets out a clear devolution policy for the Union as we leave the EU. Failure to do this just prolongs misunderstandings which are the basis for more conflict. The present machinery for developing inter-governmental relations is flimsy, and there is nothing to give the various parts of England a say. Ignoring this risks the future relations within the UK.

"We set out a path to reconciling differences and building strong relationships across the UK, which recognises that many parts of England have more in common with parts of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland than they do with London and the South East."

Click here to view the committee's report.