DETAILS of the powers to be grabbed by Westminster were published by the UK government yesterday, as ministers indicated they were gearing up to ignore the Scottish and Welsh parliaments over the Brexit repeal bill.
And shockingly it seems as if the UK government are intent on using Brexit to attack even more of Holyrood’s responsibilities.
The Cabinet Office’s list of 153 areas where EU laws impact on responsibilities governed by the Scottish parliament, shows agreement on many, but sees UK ministers angling to keep control in 24 areas, over powers on agriculture, fisheries, food labelling and public procurement, animal health, chemicals regulation, among others.
And in a surprise move to administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff there are also a further 12 areas that UK ministers are now arguing should be reserved.
They insist this is a “temporary restriction” to help “ensure an orderly departure from EU law and to provide certainty to UK businesses while new legislative frameworks are agreed”.
The Scottish Government described the move as “a re-writing of the devolution settlement the people of Scotland voted for so decisively.”
It comes after months of negotiations, that have seemingly ended in stalemate.
The UK government, unwilling to compromise further, are waging a PR battle on the governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff.
Ministers hope by showing agreement in the “vast majority” of areas they can convince voters that it is the SNP and Labour governments who are being unreasonable.
But for Scottish ministers it is not the number of powers being left to Whitehall, but what those powers are, and what it means for them to be rolled in to UK law even temporarily.
Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington said: “This is cast-iron evidence that the EU Withdrawal Bill will deliver significant brand new powers for the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“The vast majority of these new powers will be in the control of the devolved administrations on the day we leave the EU.
“There is a much smaller group of powers where the devolved governments will be required to follow current EU laws for a little bit longer while we work out a new UK approach.
“We are discussing with the devolved governments how this process will work but, as the UK Government, we feel very strongly that we must have the ability to take action to protect the UK internal market which represents a huge investment to everyone in the UK.”
Lidington said the analysis had been published to be “open and transparent”, adding he hoped an agreement can still be reached with the devolved administrations.
Scotland’s Brexit minister Michael Russell said: “This list simply confirms the UK Government’s plans for a power grab.
“Under the EU Withdrawal Bill the UK will have the right to take control of any of the powers on this list.
“However, the publication of the categories demonstrates the threat is most immediate in key devolved areas such as agriculture, GM crops, fishing, environmental policy, public procurement, food standards and a range of other areas.
“Unless the bill is changed Westminster could soon be in control of these policies amounting to a major power grab and a re-writing of the devolution settlement the people of Scotland voted for so decisively.
“I am also alarmed to see some powers included in a further category, which the UK Government says are reserved and would therefore in their view not even require consultation with the Scottish Government.
“These include Geographical Food Indicators – vital for key Scottish industries – and State Aid which has a role in supporting our economy.
“We do not agree, for example, that all of State Aid is reserved.
“For the Scottish Government there is a clear principle at stake – what happens to any devolved power must be a matter for the Scottish Parliament.
“The Parliament may decide that in some devolved policy areas it makes sense to have UK-wide frameworks, but this must be a matter for Holyrood, not the UK Government.”
“Already this week we have seen very worrying indications that the Scottish fishing industry may be sold out once again.
Nicola Sturgeon and Carwyn Jones will meet May next week.
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