Smith Commission

The Smith Commission was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron on 19 September 2014 in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum and arguably in particular 'The Vow' made by the three main British party leaders two days prior to the referendum.[1] Lord Smith of Kelvin was given the task to "convene cross-party talks and facilitate an inclusive engagement process across Scotland to produce, by 30 November 2014, Heads of Agreement with recommendations for further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament".[2] Ten representatives were nominated by the political parties with elected members in the Scottish Parliament; the Commission started its discussions on 22 October.[3]

Membership

The five political parties with representation in the Scottish Parliament were each invited to nominate two representatives to the Commission. Those nominated were:

Written submissions

The commission invited submissions from individuals and organisations before a deadline of 31 October.[6] Approximately 14,000 emails and letters were received from the public, with a further 250 contributions from groups.[6]

The Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, who had all supported a no vote in the referendum, each submitted proposals which were similar to the findings of commissions they had each established before the referendum.[7] The SNP and Scottish Greens, who had supported a yes vote, called for what was described by BBC News as "devo max".[7]

The Scottish Trades Union Congress called for the full devolution of income tax, many welfare benefits and a different immigration policy.[8] The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland pointed to the possible risks and additional administration costs caused by having different tax systems and rates.[9]

Three Scottish airports (Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen) proposed that Air Passenger Duty (APD) should be devolved, with a view to it being abolished in Scotland.[10] The airports cited the restrictive effect on tourism of APD, which raised about £200 million in revenue during the 2013/14 fiscal year.[10] WWF Scotland opposed the devolution of APD in its submission, citing the growth in carbon emissions from air travel.[11] The Scottish Government previously called for the devolution of APD in 2011, when it was devolved to Northern Ireland.[12] This action had been taken in anticipation of a similar tax being abolished in the Republic of Ireland.[12]

The Smith Report

The report highlights three main Heads of Agreement. These are;

Pillar 1: Providing for a durable but responsive constitutional settlement for the governance of Scotland
Pillar 2: Delivering prosperity, a healthy economy, jobs, and social justice
Pillar 3: Strengthening the financial responsibility of the Scottish Parliament

The following list are the issues discussed within the Heads of Agreement:

Recommendations

On 27 November 2014 the commission published its recommendations. These are to be debated in the UK Parliament before and put forward as draft legislative proposals in January 2015. A bill is expected to be brought forward after the United Kingdom general election, 2015, which is to be held on 7 May 2015.[14]

The recommendations include:[15]

The commission also considered devolving the power to vary all elements of Universal Credit (rather than just its housing element) but this did not appear in the commission's final recommendations.[16]

Criticism

The Scottish Socialist Party were not invited to be part of the Smith Commission, leaving them the only one of the six political parties that had registered with the Electoral Commission for the referendum campaign that were not able to send a representative.[17]

A House of Commons committee heard evidence that was critical of the timetable set for the Smith Commission.[18] Professor Michael Keating said he believed that the condensed timetable, which called for draft legislation by January 2015, was unrealistic.[18] He warned of the risk that agreement would unravel because there was insufficient time to consider technical issues.[18] Both Professor Keating and Professor Nicola McEwen said this was due to political pressures, with the unionist party leaders having vowed to grant additional powers and a United Kingdom general election due to be held on 7th May 2015.[18]

Reaction

Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, commented "I welcome what is being recommended" but argued that it "doesn’t deliver a modern form of home rule". Claiming that too little power would be devolved to Scotland, she added "I want to have the power in our hands to create a better system to lift people out of poverty, to get our economy growing. That’s the kind of powerhouse parliament I want. Sadly it’s not the one that’s going to be delivered.”[19] Iain Macwhirter, writing in The Herald, argued that the lack of devolution of taxes other than income tax would "lock Scotland in economic decline".[20] Polling in November 2014 indicated that a majority of Scots wanted greater devolution than that recommended by the Smith Commission.[21]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Daily, Record (27 November 2014). "The Vow Delivered". Daily Record. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  2. ↑ "About". The Smith Commission. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Smith Commission on more powers for Scotland to hold first meeting". BBC News (BBC). 22 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Scottish referendum: Iain Gray to join powers commission". BBC News. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Scottish referendum: John Swinney to join Lord Smith commission". BBC News. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Smith Commission receives more than 14,000 submissions, BBC News
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 SNP calls for major post-No powers, BBC News
  8. ↑ Scottish trade unions call for tax, welfare and immigration powers, BBC News
  9. ↑ Accountancy body warns over new tax powers for Scotland, BBC News
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Three Scottish airports call for end to Air Passenger Duty, BBC News
  11. ↑ Charity WWF Scotland defends airport green tax, BBC News
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Scottish airports disappointed by tax decision, BBC News
  13. ↑ "Quick guide to Smith Commission Report". SCVO. SCVO. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  14. ↑ Ben Riley-Smith (28 November 2014). "Everything you need to know about the Smith Commission". The Telegraph.
  15. ↑ Haroon Siddique (27 November 2014). "New powers for Scotland: key points from the Smith commission". The Guardian.
  16. ↑ Andrew Grice (28 November 2014). "Smith Commission: Scottish welfare controls watered down at eleventh hour". The Independent.
  17. ↑ Freeman, Tom (27 October 2014). "SSP welcomes new members at conference". Holyrood magazine. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Smith Commission timetable 'unrealistic', BBC News
  19. ↑ Libby Brooks (27 November 2014). "Nicola Sturgeon: Smith commission fails to deliver ‘powerhouse parliament’". The Guardian.
  20. ↑ Iain Macwhirter (30 November 2014). "Power over income tax only will doom Scotland to a downward spiral". Herald Scotland.
  21. ↑ Tom Gordon (30 November 2014). "Most Scots want more powers than Smith provides". Herald Scotland.

External links