Devolution

Question 1

What is devolution?

Answer 1

Since 1998 powers have been ‘devolved’ from the centre in Westminster to the constituent parts of the UK.

Devolution is about the transfer of power by a central government to local or regional administrations.

Question 2

Scotland

Answer 2

Scottish Parliament established in 1999

129 elected members (MSPs)

Controls education, environment, transport

Excludes defence, International affairs

Following Scottish Referendum in 2014 the Scottish Parliament was given powers to raise taxes

In December 2017 the Scottish gov announced new income tax rates that are different to the rest of the UK for the first time

Question 3

Wales

Answer 3

Welsh Assembly established in 1999

60 elected members

Determines Budget priorities, administers NHS and administers EU funds

Has no tax raising powers

Excludes, defence, international affairs, raising new taxes.

Question 4

Northern Ireland

Answer 4

Northern Irish Assembly established in 1998

90 elected members

Powers similar to Wales

Has no tax raising powers

Excludes defence, international affairs, raising new taxes

Question 5

England

Answer 5

Plans for elected regional assemblies in England were dropped after voters in the north east rejected the idea in a referendum in 2004

In 2014 the gov proposed the Northern Powerhouse to boost economic growth in the north of England championed by Chancellor George Osborne (MP for Tatton in Cheshire)

Greater Manchester was the first area to get powers over housing, transport, planning, policing and some health spending.

Six other regions also have devolution deals and held ‘Metro Mayor’ elections in May 2017 - Liverpool, Tees Valley, West of England, West Midlands, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.

Question 6

Yorkshire

Answer 6

Second area marked out for devolution was the Sheffield City Region (SCR) consisting of nine local authority areas - Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley, Bolsover, Bassetlaw, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales and NE Derbyshire.

Would get extra powers over transport and strategic planning

Would get £30m extra a year for 30 years = £900m

But Derbyshire County Council threw a spanner in the works by winning a legal challenge saying the people of Chesterfield had not been properly consulted over the SCR deal.

As a result the Metro Mayer election scheduled for May 2017 was postponed it finally went ahead May 2018 - Labours Dan Jarvis elected mayor of the Sheffield City Region but initially had little power and no money.

When the Sheffield deal stalled there was a movement to create a ‘One Yorkshire’ deal incorporating South, West, East and North Yorkshire - in other words the entire county including the big cities and the rural areas.

But the gov rejected this. Instead in March 2020 devolution deals were finally agreed with the Sheffield City Region (Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster) and separentley with West Yorkshire (Leeds, Wakefield, Calderdale, Kirklees and Bradford.

Question 7

West Lothian question

Answer 7

The argument that it is unfair for Scottish MPs to continue voting on issues that have no bearing in their own country, but which impact voters in England and Wales, whilst English and Welsh MPs have no say over issues particular to Scotland, which are decided in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies e.g. tuition fees and prescription charges.

Question 8

Indepence

Answer 8

The Scottish parliament is controlled by the nationalist Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP). On September 18 2014 a referendum was held in Scotland asking: ‘Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?’

Result: Yes - 44.% No - 55.3%

In the run up to the vote all three party leaders (then Cameron, Miliband and Clegg) signed up for ‘The Vow’ to give Scotland more powers (including over income tax) and retain the Barnett Formula (which gives Scotland £1,600 more per head to spend than England).

The Conservatives also announced plans (Feb 2015) for English Votes for English Laws (Evel) which would create a grand committee of English MPs that would have a veto on English-only laws.

This is opposed by some Cons MPs who say it doesn’t go far enough and by Labour that says it will create two classes of MPs (and it will make it impossible for Labour to govern in the future)

In January 2016 these rules were used for the first time on a Housing and Planning Bill.