Scottish devolution proposals which would force Holyrood to seek Westminster’s consent before introducing new devolved benefits “could be considered or perceived as a veto”, a cross-party committee of MSPs has concluded.
The draft clauses for the new Scotland bill set out by the previous coalition government at the start of this year “sell the Smith commission short”, according to a Scottish parliamentary committee report.
Holyrood’s Devolution Committee, which includes Tory and Lib Dem MSPs, challenged the previous UK government’s view today and urged the new Tory Government to resolve the “veto” issue before a new Scotland Bill is introduced.
The unanimous cross-party report from the devolution (further powers) committee, published on Thursday, concludes that the legislative clauses do not meet the “spirit or substance” of the Smith commission’s recommendations on welfare and benefits, and require extensive redrafting in other key areas.
The cross-party Smith commission was set up after Scotland voted no to independence in the referendum in September, to agree on further powers offered by the Westminster parties in advance of the vote.
The committee convener, SNP MSP Bruce Crawford, said: “The committee believes the current proposals do not yet meet the challenge of fully translating the political agreement reached in the Smith commission into legislation.”
He added: “In the immediate aftermath of the UK general election, the prime minister indicated that he was committed to delivering on the recommendations of the Smith Commission.
“As a committee we call on the new UK government to consider our report – agreed unanimously – as a matter of urgency and to work with the Scottish Parliament to help ensure that we have legislation that achieves the objectives that all five parties on the committee signed up for.”