Legislation and Official Policy Documents
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Fourth Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016
FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SCOTLAND ACT 2016 EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF PART 3 (FINANCIAL PROVISIONS) OF THE SCOTLAND ACT 2012 Fourth Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016 Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Scotland by Command of Her Majesty April 2020 Eighth Annual Report on the Implementation and Operation of Part 3 (Financial Provisions) of the Scotland Act 2012 Presented to Parliament pursuant to section 33(1)(b) of the Scotland Act 2012 Presented to the Scottish Parliament pursuant to section 33(1)(c) of the Scotland Act 2012 April 2020 © Crown copyright [2020] This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3. Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. This publication is available at www.gov.uk/official-documents. Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to us at [email protected]. ISBN 978-1-5286-1834-2 CCS0320342228 04/20 Printed on paper containing 75% recycled fibre content minimum Printed in the UK by the APS Group on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office CONTENTS Chapter Page Foreword 1 Part 1: Scotland Act 2016 2 1. Introduction 3 2. Implementation Progress 5 3. Income Tax 13 4. Other tax powers and fiscal provisions 17 5. Borrowing powers 19 6. -
After Brexit: the UK Internal Market Act & Devolution
AFTER BREXIT: The UK Internal Market Act & Devolution March 2021 AFTER BREXIT: The UK Internal Market Act & Devolution Table of Contents Foreword Michael Russell MSP, Cabinet Secretary for 1 Constitution, Europe and External Affairs Part One Introduction 3 Part Two Devolution since 1999 6 Part Three The UK Government’s approach to devolution since 8 the EU referendum Part Four The UK Internal Market Act 2020 16 Part Five The effect of UK Internal Market Act: 26 on the devolution settlement on businesses, consumers and people in Scotland 28 on Scotland’s role in international trade negotiations 32 Part Six Conclusion 36 ANNEXES A: International examples of multi-level state market 38 management B: The development of the UK’s state and market 41 architecture C: UK economic performance since devolution 44 D: Overview of key exclusions to the UK Internal 46 Market Act Foreword by Michael Russell MSP Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, Europe and External Affairs The Scottish Government believes the best future for Scotland is to become an independent country. Developments since the Brexit referendum in June 2016 have dramatically changed the context in which that debate on Scotland’s future is taking place. Scotland has been removed from the EU against the will of the overwhelming majority of people who live here. Much of the focus continues to be on the direct impact of that decision on Scottish society and on the economy. However, there has been another dramatic change since the Brexit vote: the steady and systematic undermining of devolution and the Scottish Parliament. Supporters of Brexit said it was about “taking back control”. -
Scotland and the UK Constitution
Scotland and the UK Constitution The 1998 devolution acts brought about the most significant change in the constitution of the United Kingdom since at least the passage of the 1972 European Communities Act. Under those statutes devolved legislatures and administrations were created in Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. The documents below have been selected to give an overview of the constitutional settlement established by the devolution acts and by the Courts. Scotland has been chosen as a case study for this examination, both because the Scottish Parliament has been granted the most extensive range of powers and legislative competences of the three devolved areas, but also because the ongoing debate on Scottish independence means that the powers and competencies of the Scottish Parliament are very much live questions. The devolution of certain legislative and political powers to Scotland was effected by the Scotland Act 1998. That statute, enacted by the Westminster Parliament, creates the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive (now the “Scottish Government”), and establishes the limits on the Parliament’s legislative competence. Schedule 5 of the Act, interpolated by Section 30(1), lists those powers which are reserved to the Westminster Parliament, and delegates all other matters to the devolved organs. Thus, while constitutional matters, foreign affairs, and national defence are explicitly reserved to Westminster, all matters not listed— including the education system, the health service, the legal system, environmental -
Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill Bill Summary
Welsh Parliament Senedd Research Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill Bill Summary October 2020 www.senedd.wales The Welsh Parliament is the democratically elected body that represents the interests of Wales and its people. Commonly known as the Senedd, it makes laws for Wales, agrees Welsh taxes and holds the Welsh Government to account. An electronic copy of this document can be found on the Senedd’s website: www.senedd.wales Copies of this document can also be obtained in accessible formats including Braille, large print, audio or hard copy from: Welsh Parliament Tŷ Hywel Cardiff Bay CF99 1SN Tel: 0300 200 6295 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @SeneddResearch Blog: SeneddResearch.blog © Senedd Commission Copyright 2020 The text of this document may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading or derogatory context. The material must be acknowledged as copyright of the Senedd Commission and the title of the document specified. Welsh Parliament Senedd Research Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill Bill Summary October 2020 Author: Jonathan Baxter www.senedd.wales Bill Summary: Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill Contents 1. Overview of the Bill .....................................................................1 1.1. Legislative competence of the Bill .............................................................. 2 1.2. Section by section guide to the Bill ........................................................... 2 1.2.a Sections 1 to -
1 European and External Relations Committee
European and External Relations Committee Human Rights Inquiry Clan Childlaw About Clan Childlaw Clan Childlaw offers a unique legal advocacy service to children and young people. We are lawyers delivering free legal advice and representation to children and young people, who would otherwise have found it very difficult or impossible to access the legal help that they require. We help Children & Young People up to the age of 18, or 21 if they have been Looked After Children. We deliver specialist training in child law including the following subjects: Children’s Rights in Scots Law; Children’s Hearings; Child Protection and the Law; Looked After Children; Sexual Offences: Children & Young People; Giving Evidence in Court; and A Journey through Care – the legal perspective. We contribute to policy development in relation to the realisation of rights for children and young people across Scotland through our evidence based Policy Development Unit. With the insight gained from our direct legal representation of children and young people, we can (a) offer a unique perspective and (b) use our legal knowledge, skills and expertise to advance policy and its implementation. (1) What is your general view on the UK Government’s proposal to introduce a British Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act 1998? Do you think changes need to be made to the current human rights regime in the UK? No. From a children’s rights point of view protection under ECHR as implemented by the Human Rights Act 1998 by the United Kingdom Parliament and as interpreted by the UK courts with reference to decisions of the European Court of Human Rights is a far clearer application of accepted Human Rights. -
Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016
Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 2016 asp 16 Explanatory Notes have been produced to assist in the understanding of this Act and are available separately £10.00 Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 16) Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 2016 asp 16 CONTENTS Section PART 1 CORE CONCEPTS 1 Regulated lobbying 2 Government or parliamentary functions PART 2 THE LOBBYING REGISTER The register 3 Lobbying register 4 Content of register 5 Information about identity 6 Information about regulated lobbying activity 7 Additional information Active registrants 8 Duty to register 9 Application for registration 10 Entry in the register 11 Information returns Inactive registrants 12 Reclassification as an inactive registrant on application 13 Reclassification as an inactive registrant without application Voluntary registrants 14 Voluntary registration Further provision 15 Power to specify requirements about the register ii Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 16) PART 3 OVERSIGHT AND ENFORCEMENT Duty to monitor 16 Clerk’s duty to monitor compliance Information notices 17 Clerk’s power to require information 18 Limitations on duty to supply information and use of information supplied 19 Appeal against information notice 20 Power to make further provision about information notices 21 Offences relating to information notices Investigation of complaints 22 Commissioner’s duty to investigate and report on complaint 23 Requirements for complaint to be admissible 24 Procedure for assessing admissibility of complaint 25 Investigation of complaint 26 Commissioner’s report on complaint 27 Parliament’s action on receipt of report 28 Withdrawal of complaint 29 Commissioner’s discretionary reports to Parliament 30 Restriction on Commissioner’s advice 31 Directions to the Commissioner Investigations: witnesses and documents 32 Power to call for witnesses and documents etc. -
Devolution, Debate and Change: Changing the UK’S Constitutional Settlements Carol Howells and Edwin Parks
Chapter 2 Devolution, debate and change: Changing the UK’s constitutional settlements Carol Howells and Edwin Parks Abstract Devolution has been ‘a process not an event’ resulting in new constitutional settlements . This chapter covers the processes of devolution, processes which mirror the first 50 years of the Open University and the first 22 years of the OU Law School. The chapter explores the devolution of powers to parliaments in Scotland and Wales. It begins with the referendums of the early 1970s and traces events leading up to both the initial transfer of powers and those resulting in subsequent transfer of powers. The process has not been without its critics and the use of differing models helped create complexity re-enforcing historical legacies. Devolution created new legal orders and challenged accepted traditional constitutional theory. The story is not yet over. 1. Introduction The establishment of The Open University (OU) in 1969 changed the landscape of higher education in the United Kingdom (UK). Its mission of being ‘Open to people, places, methods and ideas’1 and its promotion of social justice through high quality education2 has challenged thinking around educational practices. In the 50 years since it was established it has transformed the lives of many through its work and partnerships. It has students in over 90% of UK postcodes3 and continues to hold a unique position within the UK’s Higher Education sector working across, and receiving funding from, all four UK nations. In celebrating its 50th anniversary its Vice Chancellor expressed pride in being the UK’s only four nations university.4 During the OU’s 50-year history there have been significant changes and challenges within the higher education landscape. -
PARLIAMENTARY COUNSEL OFFICE Contents
SHAPING THE LAW OF SCOTLAND DRAFTING MATTERS! PARLIAMENTARY COUNSEL OFFICE Contents Contents Introductory matters Foreword by the Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC iv Why drafting matters by Andy Beattie, Chief Parliamentary Counsel vi Background viii Part 1: Drafting technique Language Plain language 2 Grammar and usage 2 Punctuation 3 Gender neutrality 3 Foreign words and Latin 3 Particular words and expressions 5 Style Conjunctions 8 Paragraphing 9 Periods of time 10 Dates 11 Numbers and symbols 11 Letter labels 13 Form and key components of Bills Form and content of Scottish Parliament Bills 14 Order of final provisions 16 Long title 17 Short title 18 Commencement provisions 19 Powers to make subordinate legislation 20 Form of subordinate legislation 23 Ancillary provision 24 Technicalities Citation of enactments 26 Cross-references 27 Definitions 28 Numbering 32 Schedules 34 i PARLIAMENTARY COUNSEL OFFICE Contents Amendments and repeals Textual amendments 36 Non-textual amendments 39 Formal headings and framework 40 Repeals 41 Specific legal expressions and terms Referring to a Bill in another Bill 43 Referring to bodies corporate 43 Referring to the Scottish Ministers (individually and collectively) 44 Mode of trial 46 Referring to ‘charges’ and ‘proceedings’ 46 Types of court 47 Part 2: Guidance on specific topics I. Arbitration Arbitration 52 II. Criminal law, justice and procedure Creating offences and penalties Structure of offence and penalty provisions 54 Formulations for creating offences 55 Giving offences names 57 Drafting -
I. Introduction
Statutory interpretation and legislative competence: section 101 of the Scotland Act 1998 Christopher McCorkindale* I. Introduction A public lawyer at the Scottish Bar tells of the first time that they invited the Court of Session to strike down an Act of the Scottish Parliament (ASP) on the basis that it was ultra vires in terms of section 29 of the Scotland Act 1998. According to that provision an ASP ‘is not law’ – and therefore may be declared by the courts to be invalid – where, inter alia, it ‘relates to’ a matter reserved to the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament, is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) or is incompatible with EU law. In the words of Ewing and Dale-Risk, the 1998 Act created a ‘clear and unambiguous power (and duty) to strike down legislation passed by a democratically elected Parliament.’1 Yet when, in the early days of devolution, our protagonist asked the Court to do just that the response from the bench was somewhat sceptical: ‘we can’t do that…can we?’ So alien to judicial culture in the UK was the role of courts to review the validity of primary legislation that not even the explicit instruction to do so in the Scotland Act was comfort enough for some members of the judiciary at that time to avail themselves of that power. The source of such discomfort is easy to locate. A defining feature of the UK constitution has been the absence of constitutional review of primary legislation. The traditional approach taken by courts to the legality of Acts of Parliament was captured by Ungoed-Thomas J in Cheney v Conn:2 What…statute itself enacts cannot be unlawful, because what the statute provides is itself the law, and the highest form of law that is known to this country. -
The Future Impact and Effect of Brexit on Scots Law and the Scottish Legal System
The Law Society of Scotland The Future Impact and Effect of Brexit on Scots law and the Scottish legal system I Chapter1 The Law Society of Scotland: The future impact and effect of Brexit on Scots law and the Scottish legal system Contents Foreword 1 Executive summary 2 Introduction 4 CHAPTER 1 The development of the Scottish legal system 7 CHAPTER 2 The courts and tribunals in Scotland 12 CHAPTER 3 The United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union 18 CHAPTER 4 The consequences of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union 25 CHAPTER 5 The EU impact on Scots Law 40 CHAPTER 6 Common frameworks 59 CHAPTER 7 Teaching EU Law in law schools post-Brexit 67 CHAPTER 8 Conclusions 70 Bibliography 74 III The Law Society of Scotland: The future impact and effect of Brexit on Scots law and the Scottish legal system Chapter IV 1 The Law Society of Scotland: The future impact and effect of Brexit on Scots law and the Scottish legal system Foreword In 2016 the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. In the three years since that historic vote there has been much debate on Brexit and the impact it will have throughout the UK and in Europe, however a great deal of uncertainty remains over our departure and future outwith the EU. What we can be certain of is that leaving the EU will We are very grateful to the Legal Education Foundation have a profound effect on Scots Law and on the legal whose funding has allowed us to dedicate the time and profession. -
The Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in Scottish Appeals: Human Rights, the Scotland Act 2012 and the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 1
The Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in Scottish Appeals: Human rights, the Scotland Act 2012 and the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 1. Introduction The purpose of this document is to set out the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (‘the Supreme Court’) to hear appeals in Scottish cases, with a particular focus on two aspects of that jurisdiction: . The Supreme Court’s power to hear civil and criminal cases in which human rights issues under the European Convention on Human Rights (‘the Convention’) arise. The Supreme Court serves as the final court of appeal in such matters (the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will only consider such cases when applicants have exhausted all domestic remedies in their own state). The changes to the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction, first, in Scottish criminal cases as a result of the Scotland Act 2012 (‘the 2012 Act’) which ensured that the High Court of Justiciary retained the power ultimately to resolve cases once the Supreme Court has determined the legal question at issue1and, second, by the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 which introduced a requirement to obtain permission to appeal in civil cases2. 2. The Supreme Court’s jurisdiction in civil appeals and criminal appeals The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in relation to Scottish civil cases. Until 2015, civil appeals came to the Supreme Court as of right,3 subject to certification by two counsel that the notice of appeal is reasonable.4 Where the Court of Session pronounces judgment on or after 22 September 2015, an Appellant must obtain permission to appeal from that Court or in certain cases, if permission is refused, from the Supreme Court. -
Spice Briefing Human Rights in Scotland 13 January 2017
SPICe Briefing Human Rights in Scotland 13 January 2017 07/01 Dr Kirsteen Shields* *Lecturer at the University of Dundee, on secondment to SPICe as an Academic Fellow. This briefing provides an introduction to human rights law in Scotland. It covers Scotland’s relationship with the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and UN treaties, as well as the powers of the Scottish Parliament in relation to human rights, and the potential implications of Brexit for human rights law in Scotland. Image: Detail from The Great Tapestry of Scotland. CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................. 3 WHY BOTHER WITH HUMAN RIGHTS? .................................................................................................................... 5 TIMELINE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 6 TYPOLOGY OF RIGHTS ............................................................................................................................................. 8 NATURE OF RIGHTS .............................................................................................................................................. 8 GENERATIONS OF RIGHTS ................................................................................................................................... 8 ABSOLUTE