Powers of the Scottish Parliament

Devolved and reserved powers

Scotland has devolved powers within the UK system of government, as set out in the Scotland Act (2001). This means that the country is not independent but it does have control over some of its affairs through its elected parliament.

Devolved powers

The affairs over which the Scottish Parliament has control are called devolved powers, and they include:

• health
• education and training
• local government
• law, including most aspects of criminal and civil law, the prosecution system and the courts
• social work
• housing
• tourism and economic development
• some aspects of transport, including the Scottish road network, bus policy, and ports and harbours
• planning and the environment
• agriculture, forestry and fishing
• sport and the arts
• miscellaneous matters, such as compiling statistics and keeping public records

Reserved powers

The UK Parliament retains control over a whole range of national affairs. These are called reserved powers, and they include:

• constitutional matters
• UK defence and national security
• UK foreign policy
• immigration and nationality
• UK fiscal, economic and monetary policy (other than Scotland's tax-varying power)
• energy: electricity, coal, gas and nuclear power
• employment legislation
• social security
• some aspects of transport, including railways, safety and regulation
• regulation of certain professions such as medicine and dentistry
• others, such as data protection, broadcasting, gambling and the National Lottery

Legislation

The devolved powers give the Scottish Parliament the opportunity to produce Scottish solutions to Scottish problems. It has passed laws abolishing university tuition fees, providing free personal care for the elderly, introducing the smoking ban, reducing bureaucracy, banning hunting with dogs - and many others. It is not, however, without its critics who claim that during too much of its first session the business of the Scottish Parliament was marred by parochial concerns. The construction of the new parliament in Edinburgh caused much controversy as costs escalated and completion was delayed, eventually resulting in a major public inquiry.

The Scottish Parliament debating chamber

Individual MSPs

Another feature of the Scottish Parliament is that individual MSPs have more opportunities to introduce legislation. Each MSP has the right to introduce two Bills during one Parliamentary session. Nearly 10% of Bills passed so far have been initiated by individual MSPs.

The Committee system

The Scottish Government has powers to propose changes to legislation and make recommendations to Parliament. One of the unique features of the Scottish Parliament is the way in which the Committee system operates. The Committees, most of which have seven members, scrutinise the work of the Government. They work much more on cross-party lines than do Committees of the Westminster Parliament and there tends to be much more agreement among MSPs from different parties when they are scrutinising or challenging the Government.

The Convenors of the Committees, who are responsible for organising the meetings, are drawn from across the main parties. For example, the convenor of the Education, Lifelong Learning and Culture Committee might be a Labour MSP while the convenor of the Health and Sport Committee might be a Liberal Democrat MSP.

Scottish Cabinet

Finance

The main source of finance for the Scottish Parliament is still the block grant from the Treasury. This is worked out according to the 'Barnet Formula', named after the Treasury Minister who devised it in 1979. This allocation of money pays for all the spending programmes for Scotland, such as health and education. Because of the 'Barnet Formula', Scotland receives a proportionally greater share of the money available - more than the share received by the regions of England. Some consider that the historical level of deprivation in Scotland justifies the amount.

The Scotland Act (2001), which drew up the conditions of devolution, granted the Scottish Government some tax raising powers. Although it has not yet been implemented, this allows the Government to vary income tax by plus or minus 3 pence in the pound. If there were to be an increase in income tax in Scotland this would give the Government much more money with which to finance its spending. However, such a move might also be very unpopular with some of the electorate.

Coalition and Minority governments

Basing the election system on proportional representation means that the Scottish Government might be made up of a coalition between different parties. During the first two terms of the Scottish Parliament the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties shared power. The advantage of the coalition system is that the different members of the Government will push forward issues of importance to their party manifesto. This means broader representation for more of the electorate. For example, the Liberal Democrats were mainly responsible for driving the abolition of university tuition fees.

Following the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections the SNP had the most MSPs with 47 but were without a majority. The SNP did not form a coalition with another party and formed a minority government instead. This means the other parties will choose on each issue whether to support the SNP government or not. The SNP will have to rely on other parties to pass laws. This is sometimes known as consensus politics.

Reform

The Scottish Parliament is in its infancy and has made mistakes but, according to a Scotsman poll in 2001, Scots have more self-confidence as a result of devolution and more pride in their country. However, there remain issues regarding the relationship between the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament, including:

• The role of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Some consider that the post is essential, to give Scotland a voice in the UK Cabinet.
• Allowing Scottish MPs to vote on matters that do not directly affect Scotland, such as Foundation Hospitals in England and Wales. This is known as the 'West Lothian Question' after Tam Dalyell, the MP for West Lothian, who first raised the issue.
• The number of Scottish MPs at Westminster was reduced in 2005. There are now 59 MPs from Scotland.
• Scotland's share of the UK budget may be reduced to force the Government to use its tax-varying powers.