Scotland Act 2016
| Act of Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act to amend the Scotland Act 1998 and make provision about the functions of the Scottish Ministers; and for connected purposes. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2016 c. 11 |
| Introduced by | David Mundell (Commons) Lord Dunlop (Lords) |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 23 March 2016 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | |
| Amended by | Scottish Crown Estate Act 2019 |
Status: Current legislation | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
| Constitutional documents and events relevant to the status of the United Kingdom and its countries |
|---|
|
List per year Treaty of Union 1706 Acts of Union 1707 Septennial Act 1716 Acts of Union 1800 1800 Reform Act 1832 1832 Judicial Committee Act 1833 1833 Judicial Committee Act 1843 1843 Judicial Committee Act 1844 1844 Irish Church Act 1869 Reform Act 1884 1884 Parliament Act 1911 Aliens Restriction Act 1914 Welsh Church Act 1914 Anglo-Irish Treaty 1921 Ireland (Confirm. of Agreement) Act 1925 1925 Eire (Confirmation of Agreement) Act 1929 1929 HM Declaration of Abdication Act 1936 1936 Regency Act 1937 1937 Regency Act 1943 1943 Ireland Act 1949 1949 Parliament Act 1949 1949 Regency Act 1953 1953 HC Disqualification Act 1957 1957 Life Peerages Act 1958 Peerage Act 1963 Royal Assent Act 1967 Immigration Act 1971 Local Government Act 1972 NI border poll 1973 NI Constitution Act 1973 Referendum Act 1975 Interpretation Act 1978 Scotland Act 1978 1978 Wales Act 1978 1978 Single European Act 1985 Maastricht Treaty 1993 Northern Ireland Act 1998 Human Rights Act 1998 Scotland Act 1998 House of Lords Act 1999 Lisbon Treaty 2009 Scotland Act 2012 2012 Wales Act 2014 2014 Recall of MPs Act 2015 Scotland Act 2016 2016 Wales Act 2017 2017 Elections Act 2022 |
.svg){kind=link}
The Scotland Act 2016 (c. 11) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 and devolves further powers to Scotland. The legislation is based on recommendations given by the report of the Smith Commission, which was established on 19 September 2014 in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum.
The Act
[edit ]The act gives extra powers to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government,[1] most notably:[2]
- The ability to amend sections of the Scotland Act 1998 which relate to the operation of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government within the United Kingdom including control of its electoral system (subject to a two-thirds majority within the parliament for any proposed change)
- Legislative control over areas such as road signs, speed limits, onshore oil and gas extraction, abortion, welfare foods, gaming machines, rail franchising, consumer advocacy and advice amongst others by devolution of powers in relation to these fields to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Ministers.
- Management of the Crown Estate and British Transport Police in Scotland
- Control over Air Passenger Duty and new legislative powers for raising an Aggregates Levy in Scotland.
- Enhanced control over aspects of several welfare and housing related benefits and Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance as well as the ability to create new welfare benefits.
- Substantial powers over Income Tax rates and bands on non-savings and non-dividend income
- Extended powers over Employment Support and the housing aspect of Universal Credit
- The right to receive half of the VAT raised in Scotland.[3]
Permanence of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government
[edit ]This Act recognises the Scottish Parliament and a Scottish Government as permanent among UK's constitutional arrangements, with a referendum required before either can be abolished. However, according to some commentators, the act institutes a weak statutory mechanism, which does not stipulate provisions or guarantees for such a referendum, or makes duties of Crown ministers in this respect publicly answerable to the Scottish electorate.[4]
- The Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government are a permanent part of the United Kingdom's constitutional arrangements.
- The purpose of this section is, with due regard to the other provisions of this Act, to signify the commitment of the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government.
- In view of that commitment it is declared that the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government are not to be abolished except on the basis of a decision of the people of Scotland voting in a referendum.[1]
Amendments
[edit ]About 120 amendments and new clauses were lodged on the bill by opposition parties but these were rejected by the Commons.[5]
Fiscal framework
[edit ]During the passage of the bill, almost a full year of negotiations took place between the Scottish and UK Governments concerning the fiscal framework that accompanied it. This was necessary because of the intention to reduce the block grant given to the Scottish government by HM Treasury to take account of the additional income the Scottish government will receive through retaining a portion of the revenues from income tax that is generated in Scotland.
The Smith Commission said that there should be "no detriment" to either government in this context, something which is technically difficult to achieve. A Scottish government proposal was that future adjustment to the block grant should be based on the "per capita index", which takes into account the growth in tax receipts across the UK, not just Scotland. This is significant because Scotland's economy and population were not growing as fast as the UK's. However, the Treasury position was that this would be unfair to the rest of the UK.[6]
See also
[edit ]- for the Scotland Bill 1977–78, see Scotland Act 1978 (subsequently repealed)
- for the Scotland Bill 1997–98, see Scotland Act 1998
- for the Scotland Bill 2011–12, see Scotland Act 2012
- Scottish Crown Estate Act 2019
- Constitution of the United Kingdom
- History of Scottish devolution
- Politics of the United Kingdom
References
[edit ]- ^ a b "Scotland Act 2016". legislation.gov.uk. 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
- ^ "Holyrood gives approval to devolved powers Scotland Bill". BBC News. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
- ^ Douglas Fraser (2 February 2016). "Scotland's tax powers: What it has and what's coming?". BBC News. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Dr Mike Gordon (30 September 2015). "Mike Gordon: The Permanence of Devolution: Parliamentary Sovereignty and Referendum Requirements". scottishconstitutionalfutures.org. Scottish Constitutional Futures Forum. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- ^ "Scotland Bill: Scottish powers bill backed by Commons". BBC News. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ "Record View: It's time for Cameron and Sturgeon to bang heads together and deliver what Scots voters were promised". Daily Record. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- Taxation in Scotland
- Public finance of Scotland
- Road transport in Scotland
- Scottish devolution
- Constitution of the United Kingdom
- United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2016
- March 2016 in the United Kingdom
- Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning Scotland
- 2016 in Scotland
- Constitutional laws of Scotland