THE UK government will be able to invest in devolved areas in Scotland under controversial new plans.
The Westminster government will have the power to give cash directly to Scottish councils, potentially defying the Scottish Government, once the Brexit transition period ends.
The details were revealed ahead of the Internal Markets Bill, which is due before the House of Commons today and has caused outrage among SNP politicians.
They claim it is an attempt at a “power grab” from Holyrood, while the Westminster government insist it will give even more powers to Scottish lawmakers.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon brands UK legislation a ‘full frontal assault on devolution’
Under the plans, the UK Government would be able to give funding directly for projects in areas including infrastructure, education facilities, economic development, culture, sport, training and development.
Scottish councils would be able to appeal directly to Westminster for funding which would have previously come from the EU.
It has caused further accusations of a power grab, as the UK Government would be able to provide cash for projects that Holyrood did not approve of, and fund projects in devolved areas such as education and health.
A Whitehall source said: “The UK government will be empowered to make investments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This does not stop the Scottish Government from investing in whatever they want to invest in.
“When the SNP say this is a power grab, I don’t know what powers we’re grabbing. They will have even more powers.”
The senior figure added: “MSPs will have more say than they ever had before. It is a power surge for Scotland and a double win for communities.
“The people of Scotland have two governments, both of them represent the people of Scotland and its right that the UK government and UK Parliament should be able to decide how British taxpayers’ money is spent.”
However, the SNP lashed out, saying the plans were just further evidence that Westminster was trying to diminish devolution.
READ MORE: Brexit: How European media reacted to Boris Johnson's bid to change the withdrawal agreement
The party’s Westminster Leader Ian Blackford MP said:”The Tory power grab bill represents the biggest threat to devolution in decades, and would enable Westminster to overrule the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament.
“This is the same broken bill that has already been decisively rejected by Scotland’s national parliament but Boris Johnson is trying to railroad it through anyway to undermine devolution and impose an extreme Brexit against Scotland’s will.
“Yet again, the Tory government is proving it cannot be trusted to respect Scotland’s wishes. Scotland has been completely ignored by Westminster throughout the Brexit process and now we face a full scale assault on the foundations of our devolution settlement.
“It’s no wonder that the majority for independence is at record levels. It is clearer than ever that the only way to protect Scotland’s interests and our place in Europe is to become an independent country.”
A UK government official said last night that “devolution is not a one-way ticket to separation” and said the bill was intended to give the UK government “the powers to design a UK-wide programme to replace some of the EU programmes” previously offered.
Meanwhile Conservatives MPs yesterday were also left stunned when Northern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis told them the Internal Markets Bill would break international law, as it would over-write some parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement around trade and customs rules in Northern Ireland.
Downing Street said the bill would only make “minor clarifications in extremely specific areas” but some have said it is an attempt by the Government to change the legally-binding agreement between the UK and the EU, which became international law in January.
Two senior civil servants announced they were resigning yesterday, with at least one said to be extremely unhappy about the contents of the bill.
Sir Jonathan Hones, permanent secretary to the Government Legal Department, quit his post followed by Rowena Collins Rice, Director General at the Attorney General’s Office.
The government said Ms Rice’s departure was planned and had been part of a process going back for months.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel