Peers voice concerns over UK implications of Smith measures

"Deep concern" over the lack of a UK-wide perspective in the Government’s proposals for further devolution to Scotland, has been expressed in a report by the House of Lords Constitution Committee published today.

The report considers the proposals in the command paper Scotland in the United Kingdom: An enduring settlement, which reflects the recommendations of the Smith Commission. It expresses the peers' "astonishment" that the UK Government does not appear to have considered the wider implications of the proposals for the UK.

Referring to the tight timetable within which the Smith Commission had to work, and the prior commitment of the three main UK parties to implement its proposals, the committee states: "We are deeply concerned that this agreement has pre-empted any possibility of meaningful consultation and discussion on the merits of the proposals with either the Scottish or UK Parliament, or indeed with citizens and civil society both in Scotland and across the UK.

"In particular, it restricts the capacity of the UK Parliament to contribute to the development of these proposals. Nor does the Smith Commission process meet the standards expected for the production of proposals for significant constitutional change."

Notwithstanding the political imperatives behind the proposals, the peers believe they "continue a pattern of ad hoc, piecemeal change to the devolution settlements which could well destabilise the Union as a whole in the longer term", and question how any process that does not consider the future of the Union as a whole could provide for an "enduring" settlement.

Regarding draft clauses 1 and 2, published in the command paper, which would state in statute the permanence of the Scottish Parliament and Government, and the convention', that the UK Parliament will not normally legislate on devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament, the committee says both of these clauses would have a political rather than legal effect, as they go against the well-established constitutional principle that one Parliament cannot bind its successors. However, they appear to be moving the UK towards a federal model of governance, and the committee calls on the UK Government to clarify whether this was its intention.

Rather than addressing the merits or otherwise of devolving the specific powers proposed in Scotland in the United Kingdom, the report emphasises the need for proper scrutiny. It calls on the UK Parliament to "not simply accept these significant constitutional changes as a fait accompli but to ensure they receive the detailed scrutiny they require and any amendment that may be necessary".

Committee chairman Lord Lang of Monkton commented: "The recommendations in the Smith Commission report clearly have profound constitutional implications for every part of the UK. However the UK Parliament is expected to pass these proposals into law without significant amendment despite having been, in effect, excluded from the decision-making process. This is not the way to implement significant constitutional change.

"We were astonished to hear that the Government have not properly considered the impact on the rest of the UK of implementing the Smith Commission proposals. Piecemeal, ad hoc changes to the Scottish devolution settlement without wider consideration of their impact could well destabilise the Union as a whole in the longer term. The major UK-wide political parties need urgently to devise and articulate a vision for the future shape of the Union and its devolution settlements. Without this, there cannot be any long-term constitutional stability."

Click here to view the report.

Yesterday the House of Commons Political & Constitutional Reform Committee criticised the draft clauses relating to the Smith Commission proposals as "not credible". (Click here for report.)