Committee to probe relationship between UK and Scottish
AN inquiry has been launched examining the relationship between national and devolved governments by a House of Lords committee.
The Constitution Committee probe will be looking to pick apart how relationships between Westminster and the Scottish, Welsh, and Northern Irish administrations are conducted – including how the UK Government consults with the institutions.
It will additionally look at whether the Sewel Convention is being respected. This states that the UK silent
Parliament will “not normally” legislate in devolved areas without permission from Holyrood, the Senedd, or Stormont.
There have been severe concerns raised about respect for the Sewel Convention in recent years.
In October, Independence Minister Jamie Hepburn said it had been breached 11 times in recent years as he accused the UK Government of using “tactics tantamount to blackmail” to get legislative consent.
Scotland’s Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson has also accused the UK Government of “imposing Westminster rule by stealth” as a paper highlighted the impact of the UK Government imposing authority over Holyrood.
It highlighted how, before Brexit, Westminster governments had never passed laws in devolved policy areas without the consent of the Scottish Parliament, but found it had done so on nine occasions as of last June.
The UK Internal Market Act 2020, the EU (Future Relationship) Act 2020, and the Professional Qualifications Act 2022 are all examples of legislation passed without the consent of the Scottish Parliament.
Last year, the UK Government refused to grant Scotland an
SNP is the only party that will always stand up for hard-working households in Scotland.”
Previously, The National asked if Sarwar supported McCabe’s position and believed that Westminster should intervene in the council tax row.
In response, a Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “The solution to the situation facing Scotland’s councils is for the SNP to end 17 years of cuts and fund local government properly.”
Rooney was contacted for comment by The National. exemption to the Internal Market Act to allow its planned Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) to include glass, which ultimately led to a major delay in implementing the recycling legislation.
The committee has put out a call for evidence with submissions being taken until April 8.
Key questions being looked at by the committee include whether respect for the Sewel Convention has been eroded and whether it can be strengthened in any way.
In January 2022, a new intergovernmental relations structure was established from a review which concluded: “All governments