Devolution Flashcards
Devolution definition and background:
Devolution:
The delegation of some governmental powers, away from the centre (parliament) to the regions, which have their own elected parliaments that make many laws themselves. Certain policy matters, such as trade, defence and foreign policy, are retained by Westminster. These are termed reserved powers.
Devolution aim: address regional disparities, promote economic growth, and allow for more localized decision-making that can better reflect the needs and priorities of local communities.
Functions:
• Economic Development: Local authorities gain control over regional economic strategies, including investment in infrastructure, skills, and business support.
• Public Services: Some devolution agreements include control over health services, housing, and transport.
• Governance: Establishing elected mayors and combined authorities to oversee and implement devolved powers.
- Devolution was only introduced successfully in 1998 as part of Tony Blair’s wider programme of constitutional changes. This followed a positive set of referendums in 1997–98 when all three regions approved proposals for elected devolved assemblies.
- Blair, congratulating Scottish voters on the referendum outcome, claimed that the era of big centralised government is over. This is a time of change, modernity and renewal.
- This largely proved an accurate assessment as devolution has proved mostly popular and the powers of the devolved assemblies have been extended.
- Devolution has not, however, been extended to England. Devolution was also not created in 1998, just successfully implicated. Devolution is not federalism, devolved powers can be retained, in contrast federalism is the complete alienation of powers to the states or regions, requiring a formal change to a nation’s constitution to alter it.
• Primary legislative powers: Making and changing laws directly through a legislative body.
• Secondary legislative powers: Creating detailed regulations and rules under the authority of existing primary laws.
The roles, powers and responsibilities of the different devolved bodies in the UK:
- The regional assemblies are not identical bodies and have developed and evolved at varying speeds, for example assemblies in the UK have different powers and electoral systems.
• Scotland and Wales use the additional member system (AMS) • Northern Ireland uses the single transferrable vote (STV).
> The Scottish Parliament had more powers right from the start including tax-raising powers and the ability to pass legislation in designated areas, which is sometimes termed primary legislative powers.
> Wales by contrast began with an assembly that possessed far fewer powers at the start, in part reflecting the much lower level of initial support for devolution. In the 1997 referendum, only 50.3% supported devolution — a narrow majority in favour of 6,721 votes. The assembly’s powers have been extended through the Government of Wales Act 2006, and the Wales Acts of 2014 and 2017.
> The progress of devolution in Northern Ireland has been slightly less smooth and straightforward.
Overall, devolution in the UK is perhaps best understood as a process, not an event or finished product.
Key devolution legislation for Scotland:
Scottish Parliament and government:
The legislative body and executive established in Scotland following the 1997 referendum. ‘Holyrood’.
Three successive Acts of Parliament have legislated devolution for Scotland:
Scotland Act 1998:
• Gave the Scottish Parliament primary legislative powers in a number of domestic areas, including law and order, health, education, transport and the environment.
• Allowed the variation of the rate of income tax by up to 3p in the pound — the Scottish variable rate (SVR).
Scotland Act 2012:
• Transferred significant tax-raising powers to the Scottish Parliament, most notably the ability to raise or lower income tax by up to 10p in the pound — the Scottish rate of income tax (SRIT).
• Devolved stamp duty and landfill taxes to Scotland, and allowed the Scottish government to borrow up to £5 billion and set up its own tax authority, Revenue Scotland.
Scotland Act 2016: involved a further major transfer of powers over to the Holyrood Parliament, including authority over areas such as equal opportunities, abortion law, speed limits and gaming machines.
• Particularly raised Scotland’s tax raising powers (fiscal devolution)- allowed the Scottish Parliament to set its own rate of air passenger duty (APD) / create income tax rates across any number of bands / given the authority to decide who could vote in its elections, as long as the decision had the support of two-thirds of its members. This power extension was partly a result of promises made by the ‘No’ campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Scotland had been given more powers to prevent their need for independence, and has been given more powers since.
Therefore; the Scotland Act of 1998 gave the Scottish parliament significant legislative and tax varying powers.
Scotlands significant independence movement and nationalism was given the most powers out of devolved bodies.
Powers were mostly service devolution.
Since the 1998 Scotland act, labour was in power till 2007. The SNP has been in power.
Overall, in its relatively short life, the Scottish Parliament has passed over 300 pieces of legislation.
No one could accuse it of not having had an impact on the lives of Scottish people.
However,
The more power devolved to Scotland, the more important the West Lothian question becomes.
There’d be more significant differences between Scotland and the rest of the uk which can be problematic in terms of democracy.
Key devolution legislation for Wales:
Welsh Assembly and Government The devolved legislature and executive for Wales:
The legislative body and executive established in Wales following the 1997 referendum. Since 2020, the correct title for the body is Senedd or Welsh Parliament.
Five successive Acts of Parliament, and the 2011 referendum, legislated devolution for Wales:
Government of Wales Act 1998:
• Set up the Welsh Assembly, which lacked primary legislative powers but did have the ability to devise secondary legislation in specified areas, including agriculture, fisheries, education, housing and highways. Such powers were broadly equivalent to those previously held by the secretary of state for Wales.
Government of Wales Act 2006:
• Enabled the Assembly to request further powers from Westminster and to gain primary legislative powers if approved by a referendum. It also set up a proper executive body, the Welsh Assembly government (as of May 2011, called the Welsh government).
2011 referendum:
• following approval in the referendum, which asked the direct question ‘Do you want the Assembly now to be able to make laws on all matters in the 20 subject areas it has powers for?’, the Welsh Assembly gained the power to enact primary legislation in 20 devolved areas of policy. These included important areas such as health, transport and agriculture. The referendum delivered a resounding ‘Yes’ vote of 64%, a clear indication of how support for a Welsh government had grown since 1997.
Wales Act 2014:
• Represented the first major transfer of some tax-raising powers to the Welsh government. • These included stamp duty, business rates and landfill tax, and enabled the Welsh government to replace them with taxes specific to Wales.
Wales Act 2017:
• Represented a further transfer of important powers to Wales. It gave the Welsh government considerably greater primary legislative powers in additional policy areas, including control over its own electoral system (subject to a two-thirds majority in the government), and policy areas such as road signs, onshore oil and gas activity, harbours, rail franchising and energy efficiency. It could also vary the rate of income tax by up to 10p in the pound, and it set up the Welsh Revenue Authority.
• The government also gained the power to change its name. It put Welsh devolution on largely the same footing as that in Scotland. The only key policy areas omitted were policing and justice.
Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020:
• this Act, passed by the Welsh government using the powers devolved to it by earlier Westminster legislation, formally changed the name of the legislature to Senedd Cymru, or the Welsh Parliament.
• It also gave the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds for Welsh parliamentary and local elections, as in Scotland.
Wales started with far fewer powers than Scotland and NI, therefore far less national sentiment in Wales.
Wales at first was only given administrative devolution, in contrast to the latest Wales act, wales has significantly more powers, besides reserved Westminster powers, wales is able to legislate on the rest of the powers, (service devolution).
Housing / health / education / economic and its own composition and elections etc. in terms of fiscal powers wales, it collects 10% of Wales’s income tax, though still less than Scotland and NI.
Still doesn’t control law and order.
Welsh independence is increasingly growing, with some polls over 30% support, this may lead to them having greater devolution in wales and the Scottish parliament.
- this may have been inflicted during the covid period, when wales demonstrated it could diverge from England on issues, often successfully.
Devolution for Ireland:
Context / Devolved powers
**Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive:
The legislative body and executive established following the 1998 referendum.
• Both groups are sometimes, if unhelpfully, associated with religious affiliation: unionists as Protestants and nationalists as Catholics.
Devolution in Northern Ireland has been more complex than in Scotland and Wales due to its problematic ‘the Troubles’ crisis which began in 1969. The Troubles arose from the nationalist civil rights movement and involved terrorist campaigns by both loyalists/unionists and republican/nationalist paramilitaries.
The Stormont Parliament, which operated from 1921 to 1972, was suspended and later abolished due to perceived discrimination against the nationalist minority. Northern Ireland was then governed by direct rule from Westminster, while the British Army had a large peace-keeping presence in the country, which was highly controversial to many nationalists. Any restoration of self-government/devolution, therefore, had to be interwoven with a wider peace process.
- Peace and greater stability were achieved after 1995 ceasefires and lengthy negotiations, culminating in the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. This agreement promised a return to devolved government and included measures like prisoner releases, reductions in British Army troops, and civil rights provisions. The agreement was approved by a referendum with 71% support, leading to the creation of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive.
Since its creation, the Assembly has faced challenges, including a suspension from 2017 to 2020 due to a collapse in the power-sharing agreement between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin (nationalists).
During this period, Northern Ireland was largely governed by civil servants, and Westminster also used the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly to extend same-sex marriage and legalise abortion in the province. These were both areas of devolved responsibility, but in the absence of the Assembly working normally, Westminster intervened. Such intervention in domestic policy of a devolved region is highly unusual and against the
‘spirit’ of devolution but reflected strongly held views across the parties in Westminster, who saw both issues as upholding the fundamental rights of the people of Northern Ireland. The action was strongly criticised at the time by the DUP.
The legalisation of both same-sex marriage and abortion in Northern Ireland provides a good example to quote when answering questions concerning the ultimate legislative authority of the Westminster Parliament. In July 2019, MPs backed amendments that required the government to change abortion laws and extend same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland if devolution was not restored by 21 October 2019. As it was still in abeyance, the laws were subsequently changed.
Devolution achieved in Northern Ireland is notably different from that achieved in Scotland and Wales:
• Party structure is completely different in Northern Ireland.
Unionists: DUP / UUP
Nationalist: SDLP / Sinn Fein
• Unlike Scotland and Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly and executive has power-sharing embedded into its structure. This ensures, in practice, that the executive always contains members from both communities. Ministerial posts are allocated on a proportional basis according to party strength. The first minister is chosen by the party with the largest number of seats, and the deputy first minister by the second largest party.
• Unlike the other regional assemblies, Assembly members (MLAs) must designate themselves as ‘nationalist’, ‘unionist’ or ‘other’, the latter referring to non-sectarian)
• Whereas Scotland and Wales have seen their powers enhanced considerably since 1997, the Northern Ireland Assembly and executive has not had its powers added to substantially since its inception. For example, it has very limited tax-raising powers.
DEVOLVED POWERS:
- 1998: was give primary legislative controls over areas not reserved for Westminster.
- could also legislate on some reserved matters with the support of the NI secretary. (In the uk govt)
Devolved bodies:
Key Features of each devolved legislature:
Electoral system used
~~~
• Scotland: AMS
• Senedd: AMS
• NIA : STV
Number of elected members:
~~~
• Scotland: 129
• Senedd: 60
• NIA: 90
Party in power:
~~~
• Scotland: Minority SNP government
• Senedd: Minority Labour government
• NIA: Multiparty powersharing executive
First minister (leader of the devolved government):
~~~
• Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon (SNP)
• Senedd: Mark Drakeford (Labour)
• NIA: Arlene Foster (DUP) first minister and Michelle O’Neil (SF) deputy first minister
Location:
~~~
• Scotland: Edinburgh (Hoyrood)
• Senedd: Cardiff
• NIA: Belfast (Stormont building)
Devolved and reserved matters:
Devolved matters:
• Agriculture, forestry and fisheries Education and training
• Environment
• Health and social services
• Housing
• Land use planning
• Law and order
• Local government
• Sports and the arts Taxation (in some forms)*
• Transport (many aspects)
Reserved Matters:
• Benefits and social security
• Broadcasting
• Constitution Defence
• Employment
• Equal opportunities
• Foreign policy Immigration
• Trade and industry
On occasion, a clash can occur between devolved and UK governments. In such situations, it is not possible for the central UK government simply to override decisions of devolved governments.
The M4 relief road
In July 2020, Boris Johnson announced a relief road would be built for a section of the M4 in Newport, South Wales, which is plagued by queues and delays. He promised he would ‘do the things the Welsh government has failed to do’. Johnson poetically explained it as ‘Providing a Vicks Inhaler to the nostrils of the Welsh dragon’, arguing that road congestion was having a negative impact on business investment in the area. This was challenged by members of the (Labour-run) Welsh government, who had previously scrapped such a scheme after declaring a climate emergency back in 2019. They had earlier stated that building more roads would increase both traffic levels and carbon emissions. The Welsh
government argued that transport was an entirely devolved issue, so the prime minister had no say on road building in Wales. Wales’s economy minister, Ken Skates, commented that the prime minister’s comments were ‘nothing more than nonsense on stilts’.
Has devolution worked well in the UK? (Argument yes)
Yes
• It has allowed regional political differences to be recognised. For example, Scotland is traditionally more left-leaning. The Scottish Parliament therefore has increased the income tax rate for the highest earners to 46p in the pound for those earning over £150,000 pa compared to 45p in the rest of the UK.
• It has strengthened the union between the regions by creating a ‘best of both worlds’ scenario, whereby the devolved regions are autonomous in many domestic policy areas, but benefit from being part of a much larger nation in the areas of defence and international trade etc.
• It has proved popular with voters. This has been particularly true for Wales when comparing the referendum results of 1997 and 2011.
• It has been vital to enabling the peace process in Northern Ireland (the peace dividend) and enabling cross-community cooperation.
• It has enabled a variety of electoral systems to be used, and shown that minority or cross-party government can work.
• It has encouraged innovation in policy-making and enabled devolved assemblies to function as ‘legislative laboratories’.
Administrations can learn from policies launched elsewhere and then replicate them if they think they will be effective. For example, the Scottish government’s 2006 decision to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces was then extended to Wales, Northern Ireland and England.
Has devolution worked well in the UK? (Argument no)
No:
• It has led to inequalities in the provision and cost of public services within the UK. For example, university tuition is free in Scotland but costs over £9,000 pa in England. Prescriptions are free in Wales and Scotland but not in England.
• Devolution has encouraged demands for greater separation and full independence, and therefore weakened the unity of the UK. The result of the Scottish referendum was
quite close (55%-45%) and devolution has given many the confidence that they can run their own affairs better without Westminster involvement. Brexit highlighted some of the divisions within the UK, as both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted heavily to Remain but played no direct role in subsequent negotiations.
• The SNP has called for a second independence referendum, suggesting devolution had not muted demands by many for full independence. Its position as the dominant party in Scotland also suggests many Scots want to go further than just devolved government.
• Community relations and devolution itself remain fragile, as evidenced by the prolonged suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 2017 to 2020.
• It has not led to any additional momentum for replacement of first-past-the-post (FTPT) for general elections. Cross-party working in Northern Ireland has also proved problematic at times and led to gridlock.
•Policy ideas, including the banning of smoking in enclosed public places or a 5p charge on plastic bags first brought in by the Welsh Assembly, would have happened anyhow via Westminster.
Devoluted bodies summary:
Devolution aims recap:
Devolution refers to the transfer of political power from the central to a subnational government. When devolution was introduced in 1998 it was intended to:
• enhance democracy with greater representation
• decentralise control from London
• modernise the UK political system
• reduce nationalism in Scotland and Wales
• establish peace in Northern Ireland
• partly to provide an expression for nationalism, especially in Scotland, (Scottish independence referendum in 2014 proves these the want for independence, 53.3% no, 44.7% yes- S remained in the Uk)
• hopes in improved public services and economy
DEVOLVED BODIES:
Key powers:
~~~~
S: Income tax (2016)
Primary legislation
Administrative
W: Tax varying powers (2014)
Primary legislation (2011)
Administrative
NI: Corporation tax
Primary legislation
Administrative
E: English mayors
Devolved policy areas
~~~~
S: Taxation / Health
/ Environment / Education / Law
/ Elections / Welfare / Abortion
W: Limited tax varying / Health
/ Environment / Education / Tourism / Elections
NI: Health services / Some welfare / Environment / Education / Law / Police / Election
E: Transport / Education / Housing / Social services / Planning / Environmental
Size of body and electoral system:
~~~~
S: 129 MSPs in the Scottish Parliament (AMS)
W: 60 Welsh Assembly members (AMS)
NI: 108 Assembly members (STV)
E: 1) London Assembly (2000) = 25 AMs (AMS) 2) Directly elected mayors in England and Wales (11 established in 2002, 15 by 2019).
3) Metro mayors (2017), directly elected, one per combined authority (SV), six in total
Impact:
~~~~
S: Rise of SNP / Scottish independence referendum / Divergent policies and programme from UK (tuition fees)
/ West Lothian question
W: Growth in devolution
Growth in support for devolution
Variations from England (prescriptions)
NI: Peace / Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement / Power sharing, until 2017
E: Transfer of administrative responsibility from central government to local level / Elections allow accountability
Devolution in England:
- Unlike other devolved bodies, England doesn’t have a parliament and devolution in England is defined by variation and inconsistency.
• Certain powers were devolved to the Greater London Authority in 1998. In the rest of England, there is a patchwork of arrangements, with many areas having no devolution.
City region deals are less substantial devolution than that to Scotland or Wales, for example, as they are only ‘administrative devolution’ (or control over implementation). rather than “legislative devolution”.
Positive Aspects:
- Tailored Solutions:
Local governments can implement policies that are better suited to the specific needs of their regions.
- Increased Accountability:
Elected local leaders can be more responsive and accountable to their constituents.
- Economic Growth:
Devolution has been linked to improved economic performance in some regions through targeted investments.
Should there be devolution in England?
- It would complete devolution and remove the current asymmetry.
- It would enable English identity and culture to flourish.
- It would finally resolve the West Lothian question.
- It would enable more power to be decentralised away from London.
- Devolution has worked well elsewhere in the UK.
** Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Established in April 2011, with further powers devolved in 2014 and 2017. Greater Manchester was the first area to agree on a devolution deal, gaining control over transport, housing, planning, and policing.
• Health and Social Care Devolution (2015): In a landmark deal, GMCA received control over a £6 billion health and social care budget.
• Economic Growth: Investment in infrastructure projects like Metrolink expansion and housing development.
• Health Innovations: Integration of health and social care services to improve efficiency and patient outcomes.
• Increased Accountability: Introduction of the elected Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017, enhancing local democratic accountability.**
Challenges:
- Uneven Implementation:
The extent of devolution varies across regions, leading to inconsistencies.
- Funding Issues:
There are concerns about whether the funding provided is sufficient to achieve the intended outcomes.
- Central Control:
Some argue that the central government retains too much control, limiting the effectiveness of devolution.
Why should there not be devolution in England:
- England is different from the other regions in terms of size and its economy. What has worked in smaller parts of the UK may not automatically work in its largest region.
- England largely lacks its own national identity.
- Culture and identity are much more regional.
- EVEL has largely addressed the West Lothian Question by giving English MPs more control over laws purely dealing with England.
- There would be considerable expense involved, and it would weaken significantly the role of the Westminster Parliament.
- There is no evidence of strong public support for an English parliament. New labours attempts to introduce a regional assembly for the North East was heavily rejected by voters in a 2004 referendum by 78%-22%. Many places have rejected the introduction of directly elected mayors. This lack of support suggests the introduction of devolution elsewhere has had minimal influence on support for an English parliament.
North East Combined Authority, Initially formed in April 2014, with a proposed devolution deal in 2015.
• Devolution Agreement (2015): The North East was offered a devolution deal, which included powers over transport, skills, and economic development.
• Political Disagreement: The deal fell through in 2016 due to disagreements among local councils, particularly concerns over the sufficiency of funding and the balance of power.
• Lack of Progress: Without a unified agreement, the region struggled to implement significant changes or benefit from the intended economic and governance improvements.
• Current Status: While the North of Tyne Combined Authority (covering Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland) accepted a deal in 2018, the broader North East region remains without comprehensive devolution.
Greater Manchester: Widely considered a success due to its integrated health and social care system and robust economic development initiatives.
North East: Seen as less effective due to political fragmentation and failure to secure a comprehensive devolution deal.
London has the most devolved powers in England, controlled by a directly elected mayor and elected London Assembly.
• London Mayors are important political figures. The current London Mayor is Sadiq]
Khan, before him were Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone.
• The Greater London Authority has strategic responsibility and power over policing.
transport and economic development.
• It has been able to reform transport, with Ken Livingstone introducing the congestion charge and free travel for young people being introduced.
• Recent Developments: The evolving devolution landscape in the West Midlands and other regions showcases ongoing efforts to decentralize powers and enhance local governance, the election of the first Mayor of the West Midlands in 2017, enhancing local governance and accountability, came through with the Initiatives to improve local skills, training, and employment opportunities.
West Lothian question and The Barnett Formula.
The West Lothian Question and English Votes For English Laws (EVEL)
• Power being devolved to Scotland, Wales and Norther Ireland raised the West Lothian
Cueston.
This questioned why Scottish MPs should be able to vote on English matters in the UK Parliament that don’t affect their constituents, when English MPs can’t do the same in the Scottish Parliament
• In order to seek to tackle this, EVEL was introduced in 2015. This allowed English MPs to veto any legislation affecting England only from being passed. It didn’t, however, allow English MPs to make their own laws.
• It wasn’t used often (only for around ⅓ of bills in the 2015-17 parliament). It may have become more significant if a government was elected with a majority in the UK but not in England.
• It was criticised for creating two tiers of MPs, adding unnecessary complications and not providing a viable expression for English identity and was scrapped by Boris Johnson’s government in July 2021.
The Barnett Formula
• The Bamett Formula is the system used to determine the amount of funding given to each devolved body (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), drawn up as a short term mecranism in 1979.
- Doesnt take into account relative need (Wales receives less than Scotland despite being poorer), with England effectively subsidising the other three nations, hitting deprived areas of England the most.
• In 2020/21 public spending per person in the UK as a whole was £13,414.
In England, it was 2% below the UK average
In Scotland, 11% above the UK average.
In Wales it 6% above the UK average.
In NI, it was 14% above the UK average.
• Neither Labour nor the Conservatives have sought to replace it, fearing political repercussions from voters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• In the Scottish Independence Referendum, all three main parties in Westminster pledged their support to continue it, whilst Nigel Farage criticised it and argued it should be scrapped when he was leader of UKIP, as he saw it as being unfair to the population of England.
Devolution impact on the UK:
To the constitution:
Devolution has significantly impacted the British Constitution, shifting it from a purely unitary state to a “quasifederal” system.
- The UK remains unitary as ultimate sovereignty lies with Westminster, which could theoretically repeal devolution Acts and abolish regional assemblies. However, strong federal elements exist, with devolved bodies deciding key domestic policies outside England. The Scotland Act 2016 underscores this by preventing Westminster from legislating in devolved matters without consent, recognizing the permanence of devolved institutions. Consequently, Westminster’s parliamentary sovereignty is notably reduced outside England.
Policy variation:
Devolution has led to significant policy variation, and some argue inequality, across the UK, reducing Westminster’s control over domestic policy beyond England. Differences are evident in areas like university tuition fees, hospital car parking, corporal punishment (banned in Scotland in 2019), and income tax rates. A notable example is the varied handling of COVID-19 lockdowns: England and Northern Ireland could travel long distances for a beach visit or to walk in the countryside, but could not drive into Wales or Scotland to do the same. Shops and schools reopened earlier in England and Northern Ireland. Regional decisions controlled these variations, limiting Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s authority to England and requiring collaboration with devolved leaders for the initial lockdown.
Alternative Voting Systems:
Devolution has introduced alternative voting systems beyond First-Past-The-Post (FPTP), often resulting in minority or coalition governments. The impact of this change is debated: does it cause more stalemates or foster greater cross-party cooperation? However, it has undeniably altered the balance of power in devolved assemblies, where multiparty governance has become the norm rather than the exception.
Pressure groups:
Attitudes towards devolution:
- Since Tony Blair introduced devolution in 1997, all UK Prime Ministers have been supportive of it, with further devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland under the Coalition Government and Conservative Governments of Cameron and May.
• Devolution continued to be seen as positive in terms of democracy and key to trying to keep the union together in the face of growing nationalism, particularly in Scotland.
• Boris Johnson was significantly different, describing devolution as a ‘disaster’ and Tony
Blairs biggest mistake in November zUzU and faring to work closely with devolved administrations when in power, with frequent clashes with the Scottish and Welsh governments over COVID policies and constant criticism of Nicola Sturgeon in particular.
• Lie truss seemed to contnue Jonnsons approach and Rish Sunak has recently increased tensions hugely by using a Section 35 Order to block Scotland’s proposed gender reform bill, which would’ve introduced self-identification for those who wanted to change gender, even 16 and 17 year olds.
> Section 35 of the Scotland Acts allows the UK Government to block a bill from a devolved body in exceptional circumstances if it believes it will have an adverse
Nicola Sturgeon has strongly criticised the use of the Section 35 order, Inis is a tull-trontal attack on our democratically elected scottish parliament and it s ability to make its own decisions on devolved matters. @scotgov will defend the legislation and stand up for Scotland’s parliament. If this Westminster veto succeeds, It will be first of many. she has also contirmed that the SNP will challenge it in the courts.
Using higher education and health and as an example of policy difference.
Impact of devolved eduction powers:
As Education is an area of policy controlled by all devolved bodies, higher education is a useful example to use to show policy difference. This is in particular as the Conservative Party has been in power in England (in coalition, minority or majority government) since 2010, whilst more left wing governments have been in power in Scotland and Wales.
> In England, the coalition government increased tuition fees to up to £9,250 per year for home students and scrapped most grants.
In Scotland, tuition fees for home students were scrapped in part by the Labour-Lib Dem coalition government in 2001 and then completely by the SNP in 2008. really big difference in policy in terms with the fact that Scottish students going to university do not pay any tuition fees, impacting lives greatly
In Wales, tuition fees for homes students are capped at £9,000 per year and there is a £1,000 grant to help with living costs for all students, with higher grants for those from lower income households. similar to England, however there is more help and support for students
In Northern Ireland, tuition fees for home students are capped at £4,630 per year and there are maintenance grants for students from lower income households. near enough half of what students in England would pay
Impact of devolved healthcare powers:
- The city region of Greater Manchester has also gained significant control in health polices along side Wales, Scotland, NI through a bespoke deal.
> In England there is a prescription charge of £9.35 per item, whilst in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, prescription charges have been abolished.
• In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there is also greater financial support for the costs of care for the elderly than there is in England.
• In Scotland, there is free long-term care for the elderly, whilst in Northern Ireland most care in the home is free for those aged over 75.
> In 2015, the Greater Manchester city region was given ‘devolved control’ over the health budget for the city-region. This should be seen as “administrative devolution” with the implementation devolved rather than any legislative powers.
• Much of health policy is similar to the rest of England, however there have also been changes, including a more joined up approach to care and greater
funding for mental health care relative to other health care funding.
