14 November 2008
By David Scott in Edinburgh
The UK government has been accused of trying to stop the process of Scottish self-government after refusing to make any commitment to increase the powers of the Holyrood Parliament.
In a 126-page submission this week to the Calman commission on devolution, Whitehall departments stressed that the current structure had been a 'success by any measure' and made no proposals for change. The government also suggested there might be a case for ending the ability of MSPs to control the building of nuclear power stations.
However, ministers remain open to any proposals, in accordance with devolution principles, to adjust the Scotland Act settlement further to 'strengthen devolution', the submission said. The Scotland Office's contribution said: 'The devolved funding arrangements provide the Scottish Parliament with not only a rising budget but also continuity and a stable, transparent and predictable way of funding public services in Scotland.
'The government is keen to consider with the commission, in accordance with its terms of reference, how the financial accountability of the Parliament might be improved.'
The commission, chaired by Sir Kenneth Calman, was set up with the support of Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The submission said that while devolution was working well, there were areas of policy, such as planning powers, where the inevitable overlap between devolved and reserved matters 'has the potential to cause difficulty'.
It stated: 'It was clearly not the intention of Parliament in passing the Scotland Act that the use or threatened use of devolved powers should undermine the delivery of reserved policies. The government suggests that the commission may wish to consider how such problems might be avoided.' The Scottish National Party seized on the statement as evidence that the UK government was attempting to end Scotland's effective veto over the building of nuclear power stations in Scotland.
A spokesman for First Minister Alex Salmond claimed UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown's instinct was to claw powers back. He said: 'The UK Labour government obviously now think they can get away with stopping the process of Scottish self-government – but in reverting to type in this way they are making a big mistake and rejecting majority opinion.'
The submission confirmed that Scotland would not be able to retain council tax benefit monies if a local income tax were introduced.
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