The members of the Network of International Development Organisations in Scotland (NIDOS) and the Scotland Malawi Partnership (SMP) welcome the opportunity for civil society organisations to have some input to the Smith Commission process and will be making submissions to it.

We believe even in the initial stages of its work, the Smith Commission, and the political parties in Scotland, must recognise that many, if not most, decisions made by the Scottish Parliament and Government will have some kind of impact beyond Scotland. There is an opportunity to use existing, and any further, devolved powers to help build a fairer and more just global society, and in particular to ensure Scotland plays its part in tackling the connected challenges of international poverty and climate change.

The last 10 years of the Scottish Government's international development programme, under various governments, provide evidence of the difference that can be made. Benefit comes from the funding being additional to the UK Government's aid programme, and impact and innovation can be seen in the close partnerships between Scotland and Malawi, community links in a range of countries, and progressive action on Climate Justice. We will therefore be recommending to the Smith Commission that the Scottish Parliament and Government's authority to pursue an international development programme, and commit a budget to it, should be formalised.

We believe there is an important distinction between 'international development' as a function of government and 'foreign affairs' as a policy area, as demonstrated by the existence of the Department for International Development as a UK-level government ministry in its own right. In any debate about further devolution of powers, these two issues should be considered separately, in order to ensure international development spending follows need rather than wider 'foreign affairs' considerations.

While we recognise the Commission has little choice or flexibility over the timescales, we hope that there will be as much consultation as possible with civil society and the wider public throughout the process. We also hope there will be continued opportunities for public and civil society engagement with the debate around further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament, and the means by which we can build a fairer and more just global society, outside of the formal Commission process and timetable and beyond the UK General Election scheduled for May 2015.

Annie Lewis, Chair, NIDOS

Ken Ross, Chair, SMP