What is devolution?

For many centuries prior to 1707, Scotland had its own government, with a Parliament that met in different geographic locations before settling in Edinburgh in 1633. However, the Act of Union of 1707 abolished the Scottish Parliament and merged the Scottish and English Parliaments into a single institution based in London. On 11 September 1997, a referendum was held in which residents of Scotland were asked to vote on two questions relating to their political future. The first was simply whether a Scottish Parliament should be re-established. The second concerned whether this Parliament should have taxvarying power.

The outcome of this referendum was a majority (74%) voting in favour of re-creating the Scottish Parliament, with a smaller majority (64%) voting in favour of allowing it to have tax-varying powers. In 1998, the Scotland Act was passed by the Westminster Parliament, which ‘devolved’ a range of responsibilities and powers to the new Scottish Parliament. On 6 May 1999, a General Election was held, with the first 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) being elected by a process that combines both first-past-the-post and proportional representation voting principles (technically referred to as an ‘Additional Member’ system). The Scottish Parliament formally opened in Edinburgh on 1 July 1999, with a Labour–Liberal Democrats coalition, led by the former Labour Cabinet Minister, Donald Dewar, as First Minister, and the pro-independence Scottish National Party as the official opposition. The 2003 election generated a similar outcome, with ex-Labour Councillor Jack McConnell as First Minister.

Central to the understanding of the way in which the Scottish Parliament operates is the distinction between ‘devolved’ and ‘reserved’ issues. In a nutshell, ‘devolved’ issues are the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament while ‘reserved’ issues are the responsibility of the Westminster Parliament. As there is still considerable confusion concerning the division of the responsibilities between the two institutions, it is useful to catalogue each. Devolved issues include:

• • health, education and training;

• • local government;

• • social work;

• • housing and planning;

• • tourism, economic development and financial assistance to industry;

• • certain aspects of transport, including the Scottish road network, bus policy and ports and harbours;