Nicola Sturgeon publishes full list of 111 powers vulnerable to Brexit "power grab"

However the key Brexit legislation, the EU Withdrawal Bill currently going through Westminster, was “preventing this essential cooperation and coordination”.

The devolved governments say the Bill, as drafted, would undermine devolution, as it would see powers repatriated from Brussels, even those in devolved areas, go to Westminster rather than Edinburgh or Cardiff at Brexit.

Westminster would then decide which powers were forwarded to the devolved governments and when.

The Scottish Government also published a list of 111 powers it has said would be vulnerable to a Westminster "power grab" under the EU Bill.

The Welsh government has a list of 64 powers affecting its operation.

Warning they were working on their own fall-back legislation if the Bill was imposed, the SNP and Labour First Ministers published 38 joint amendments to beef up the powers of Edinburgh and Cardiff, and stop Westminster imposing cross-border changes unilaterally.

They said: “We want a EU (Withdrawal) Bill that can be made to work with, not against, devolution.

“The current Bill will need to be substantially amended for us to be able to recommend to our respective legislatures that they give their consent to it.

“Our Governments have therefore prepared a set of amendments which, if made, would make the Bill one which we could consider recommending to the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.

“We hope they will be received in the way they are intended: as a constructive contribution by the devolved administrations, which would enable progress to be made among the governments in a way which respects the hard-won devolution settlements of the UK.”

The amendments are designed to:

-Ensure devolved policy areas come back to the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly of Wales on withdrawal from the EU.

-Prevent UK ministers unilaterally changing the Scotland Act and Government of Wales Act.

-Require the agreement of the Scottish Government on necessary changes to current EU law in devolved areas after Brexit.

-Ensure additional restrictions are not placed on devolved ministers compared with UK Government ministers.

The list of 111 potential "power grab" casualties identifies where the UK Government believes Brexit and devolution “intersect”.

It includes agricultural support, fisheries management support, genetically-modified crop regulations, criminal justice matters including Europol, and rail franchising issues.

Fracking, procurement, aviation noise, tobacco regulation, animal welfare, renewable energy, and tissues and cells are also covered.

Scottish Government sources suggested the list, produced by Whitehall, appeared exhaustive, if not over-cautious, in its scope.

The Scottish, Welsh and UK governments all agree that some powers returned from Brussels might be exercised at a UK-wide level in new “framework agreements”.

However the devolved administrations believe the vast majority of returned powers should go to Edinburgh and Cardiff, not languish at Westminster, waiting for the UK Government to forward some them to Holyrood and the Welsh Assembly on as-yet unknown timetable.

Presenting the list to Holyrood’s European committee ahead of an appearance tomorrow, SNP Brexit minister Michael Russell said: “The Scottish Government is opposed to Brexit, in line with the overwhelming views of the people of Scotland.

"However, we must prepare for that eventuality, and in particular make sure that a functioning set of laws are in place after March 2019 when the UK is due to leave.

“We have said we are willing to co-operate with the UK Government but this cannot mean allowing Westminster to drive a coach and horses through the devolution settlement. At present that is what the EU (Withdrawal) Bill does. The UK Government will take control of all policy areas exercised at EU level, whether they are devolved or not.

“That is why the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales have described this bill as a naked power grab.

“We have made it repeatedly clear that we are not opposed in principle to UK-wide arrangements, but devolved policy areas must come back to the Scottish Parliament, where they properly lie, and then we can work towards an agreement.”

In a letter, Mr Russell told the committee the list was "an initial assessment by the UK Government of where it believes that EU competences intersect with devolution and which therefore would be affected by the restrictions in the Bill".

He went on: “We were taken aback by the size of the list that was presented to us, but it shows the scale of what is at stake.

“They represent control over agriculture, fisheries, environmental regulation, relations between Scotland’s independent legal system and our European counterparts, State Aid and many more.

“It is perfectly possible for UK-wide frameworks to be agreed, but they must not be imposed by the UK Government with no respect for the founding principles of the devolution settlement.”

Last week, Mr Russell said the Scottish Government was not prepared to support the key piece of UK Brexit legislation, the EU Withdrawal Bill, because of its impact on devolution.

The Bill, as drafted, would see all powers repatriated from Brussels go to Westminster at Brexit, even those in devolved areas, such as agriculture.

He said this “re-reserving” of devolved powers upends a founding principle of the 1997 devolution settlement - that all powers not explicitly reserved to Westminster are devolved by default.

If the UK government then pressed ahead with the legislation regardless, effectively imposing it on an unwilling Scottish Parliament, it would be constitutional crisis.

The deadline for changing the bill is the end of its final stage in the House of Lords in the New Year.

Mr Russell and Deputy First Minister John Swinney are due to meet Tory MSPs Jackson Carlaw and Adam Tomkins later this week to discuss possible compromises on the EU Bill.

The two ministers are also due to meet Mrs May's deputy Damian Green in London on Monday.

Mr Green, the First Secretary and effecutive deputy PM, said: "The lists which the UK Government shared with the Scottish and Welsh Governments several weeks ago contains 111 and 64 policy areas respectively that are currently controlled by the EU which are now coming back to the UK.

"We want to continue to work with the Scottish and Welsh Governments to make sure we are all ready to take on these new responsibilities when we leave the EU.

“The important thing now is to work our way through these lists and find the areas where we will need to maintain a common UK or GB approach, as well as those areas where it will make sense to transfer powers direct to the devolved governments.

"When it is better to devolve then that is what we will do, as we have done for the last 20 years.

"The Repeal Bill [sic] aims to maximise certainty for individuals and businesses as we leave the EU. The UK Government stands ready to listen to those who offer improvements to the Bill – but we will do nothing that risks undermining the benefits of the UK.

“Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast will receive more decision making powers as a result of this process.

"But the UK Government will not risk our internal UK market, or make life more difficult or more expensive for UK companies, workers or consumers. We all observe the same broad EU rules now.

"Doing things four different ways - in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - will not be the best way if it adds costs to companies and customers across the UK.

“I hope and expect that we can make progress in the talks that are planned for the coming week.'

The full list of powers returning from the EU that intersect with the devolution settlement in Scotland

1. Agricultural Support

2. Agriculture - Fertiliser Regulations

3. Agriculture - GMO Marketing & Cultivation

4. Agriculture - Organic Farming

5. Agriculture - Zootech

6. Animal Health and Traceability

7. Animal Welfare

8. Aviation Noise Management at Airports

9. Blood Safety and Quality

10.Carbon Capture & Storage

11.Chemicals regulation (including pesticides)

12.Civil judicial co-operation - jurisdiction and recognition & enforcement of judgments in civil & commercial matters (including B1 rules and related EU conventions)

13.Civil judicial co-operation - jurisdiction and recognition & enforcement of judgments instruments in family law (including BIIa, Maintenance and civil protection orders)

14.Civil judicial cooperation on service of documents and taking of evidence

15.Criminal offences minimum standards measures - Combating Child Sexual Exploitation Directive

16.Control of major accident hazards

17.Cross border mediation

18.Data sharing - (EU fingerprint database (EuroDac)

19.Data sharing - European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS)

20.Data sharing - False and Authentic Documents Online (FADO)

21.Data sharing - passenger name records

22.Data sharing - Prüm framework

23.Data sharing - Schengen Information System (SIS II) 24.Efficiency in energy use 25.Elements of Reciprocal Healthcare

26.Elements of the Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive

27.Elements of Tobacco Regulation

28.Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

29.Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive

30.Environmental law concerning energy planning consents

31.Environmental law concerning offshore oil & gas installations within territorial waters 32.Environmental quality - Air Quality

33.Environmental quality - Chemicals

34.Environmental quality - Flood Risk Management

35.Environmental quality - International timber trade (EUTR and FLEGT)

36.Environmental quality - Marine environment

37.Environmental quality - Natural Environment and Biodiversity

38.Environmental quality - Ozone depleting substances and F-gases

39.Environmental quality - Pesticides

40.Environmental quality - Spatial Data Infrastructure Standards

41.Environmental quality - Waste Packaging & Product Regulations

42.Environmental quality - Waste Producer Responsibility Regulations

43.Environmental quality - Water Quality

44.Environmental quality - Water Resources

45.Environmental quality - Biodiversity - access and benefit sharing of genetic resources

46.Equal Treatment Legislation

47.EU agencies - EU-LISA

48.EU agencies - Eurojust

49.EU agencies - Europol

50.EU Social Security Coordination

51.Fisheries Management & Support

52.Food and Feed Law

53.Food Compositional Standards

54.Food Geographical Indications (Protected Food Names)

55.Food Labelling

56.Forestry (domestic)

57.Free movement of healthcare (the right for EEA citizens to have their elective

procedure in another member state)

58.Genetically modified micro-organisms contained use

59.Good laboratory practice

60.Harbours

61.Hazardous Substances Planning

62.Heat metering and billing information

63.High Efficiency Cogeneration

64.Implementation of EU Emissions Trading System

65.Ionising radiation

66.Land use

67.Late payment (commercial transactions)

68.Legal aid in cross-border cases

69.Migrant Access to benefits

70.Minimum standards -housing & care: regulation of the use of animals

71.Minimum standards legislation - child sexual exploitation

72.Minimum standards legislation - cybercrime

73.Minimum standards legislation - football disorder

74.Minimum standards legislation - human trafficking

75.Mutual recognition of professional qualifications

76.Mutual recognition of criminal court judgments measures & cross border cooperation -

European Protection Order, Prisoner Transfer Framework Directive, European

Supervision Directive, Compensation to Crime Victims Directive

77.Nutrition health claims, composition and labelling

78.Onshore hydrocarbons licensing

79.Organs

80.Plant Health, Seeds and Propagating Material

81.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - Asset Recovery Offices

82.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - European Investigation Order

83.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - Joint Action on Organised Crime

84.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - Joint investigation teams

85.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - mutual legal assistance

86.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - mutual recognition of asset freezing orders

87.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - mutual recognition of confiscation orders

88.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - Schengen Article 40

89.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - Swedish initiative

90.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - European judicial network

91.Practical cooperation in law enforcement - implementation of European Arrest

Warrant

92.Procedural rights (criminal cases) - minimum standards measures

93.Provision of legal services

94.Provision in the 1995 Data Protection Directive (soon to be replaced by the General

Data Protection Regulation) that allows for more than one supervisory authority in

each member state

95.Public sector procurement

96.Public health (serious cross-border threats to health)

97.Radioactive Source Notifications – Trans-frontier shipments

98.Radioactive waste treatment and disposal

99.Rail franchising rules

100.Rail markets and operator licensing

101.Recognition of insolvency proceedings in EU Member States

102.Renewable Energy Directive

103.Rules on applicable law in civil & commercial cross border claims

104.Sentencing - taking convictions into account

105.State Aid

106.Statistics

107.Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive

108.Tissues and cells

109.Uniform fast-track procedures for certain civil and commercial claims (uncontested

debts, small claims)

110.Victims rights measures (criminal cases)

111.Voting rights and candidacy rules for EU citizens in local government elections