| Q1. What powers does
the Scottish Parliament currently have?
A1. The Scottish
Parliament has wide-ranging powers to implement policy on all matters affecting
the people of Scotland, except where policy would impact on the rest of
the United Kingdom. The Scottish Parliament can legislate on matters
of health, education, economic development, transport, leisure, tourism,
local government, crime and the environment. The Scottish Parliament
also has the power to vary the level of taxation in Scotland within 3%
of the level of taxation set by Westminster.
Q2. What powers are
reserved to Westminster?
There are several
areas of national policy, which are reserved to Westminster, and the Scottish
Parliament has no power over. Foreign and Defence policy are debated
and legislated at Westminster, as are employment, social security and fiscal
policy, as these policies affect the United Kingdom as a whole. Also
economic decisions including the nationalisation or privatisation of national
utilities are taken at Westminster. As Scotland is still an integral
part of the United Kingdom, the national policies listed above are beyond
the jurisdiction of the Scottish Parliament.
Also, any further
constitutional decisions are reserved for Westminster. Therefore
Westminster would have to agree to any possible future binding referendum
on Scottish independence.
Q3. What fiscal powers
does the parliament have?
The Scottish Parliament
has the power to raise, or lower income tax within 3% of the level set
at Westminster. However, the Scottish Executive has stated that these
powers will not be used in the lifetime of this parliament. Fiscal
policies such as exchange and interest rates are out with the mandate of
the Scottish Parliament. These fiscal policies cannot be set independently
from Westminster without affecting the British economy as a whole.
It is therefore necessary that national economic decisions are debated
and legislated by the UK government at Westminster.
Q4. What arguments
are there for extending the parliament's powers?
There are people
who argue that as long as the powers of the Scottish Parliament are limited
as they are now, the Parliament cannot debate and legislate effectively
on all the issues that affect the lives of the people of Scotland.
For example, there has been sustained opposition by many Scots to Scotland
housing the Trident nuclear submarine base at the Faslane naval base.
Despite this, as long as defence policy is reserved to Westminster there
is no prospect for the Scottish parliament legislating on matters such
as Trident. Trident however is extremely relevant to the people of
Scotland as its implications are not only limited to the defence of the
realm, but also the environment and employment. Scottish Nationalists
especially have argued therefore that defence and other issues should be
discussed and legislated on at Holyrood as these issues affect the people
of Scotland.
Q5. What are the
views of the various political parties on the powers of the parliament?
The
Scottish
Nationalist Party (SNP) have consistently
called for increased powers at Holyrood. The SNP argue that the parliament
is ineffective as it is constrained to tightly by Westminster and can therefore
not govern Scotland successfully. The Liberal
Democrats and the Scottish
Labour Party argue however that to increase
the powers of the Parliament would increase the risk of sliding towards
independence, which could be disastrous for Scotland. The Lib Dems
and the Labour Party see the Parliament as a voice for the Scottish people
within the United Kingdom, and not as a tool for dividing the country,
and by considerably increasing the powers at Holyrood, conflict between
Scotland and Westminster could emerge. The
Conservatives argue that to increase the powers
of the Scottish Parliament at all would inevitably lead to Scottish independence
and that this would be a catastrophe for Scotland and the UK as a whole.
Q6. Was it not a
Conservative MP who suggested that the Scottish Parliament should have
more powers?
This is indeed correct.
A senior Conservative Westminster MP, David Davis has argued that the Scottish
Parliament’s tax raising powers should not be limited to 3% of the level
set at Westminster. He went even further by suggesting that the Scottish
Parliament should be given a substantial portion of North Sea Oil revenue.
Davis argued that this would give the parliament jurisdiction over enough
finance to cover Scotland’s spending. Davis pointed out that this
would make MSPs responsible and accountable for the money they spend.
Despite the comments
made by Mr Davis, they are not Conservative Party policy and it is likely
that many Conservative MSPs and MPs do not share Mr Davis’ views.
Q7. Can we ever have
any control over our destiny without independence?
The SNP argue that
the Scottish Parliament is a stepping stone to the ultimate goal of Scottish
independence, and only when that final goal is reached can the Scots have
the opportunity of true self-determination. However, the other three
major parties all agree that Scotland’s future remains embedded in the
United Kingdom, and that independence would weaken the position of the
Scotland and the Scottish people.
The Scottish Parliament
gives the Scottish people a forum for discussion with the power to take
decisions on key policy issues to all of the people of Scotland including
health, education, employment, transport and crime. This gives the
Scottish people more control over their destiny than ever before while
enjoying union with the rest of the United Kingdom.
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