The reasons given by the UK Government for rebuffing a request for a Scottish minister to be part of the UK delegation to the forthcoming UN Summit on Sustainable Development are hardly persuasive (Westminster bans Scotland from international summit, News, September 13). International relations, we are reminded, is a reserved matter. The Scotland Act makes it clear, however, that this does not prevent Scottish ministers assisting ministers of the Crown in this respect, as they have done on previous occasions.
While head of Friends of the Earth, I encouraged the then First Minister Jack McConnell, to attend the World Summit in Johannesburg 2002, which he did as part of the UK delegation, along with the first ministers of Wales and Northern Ireland. Subsequently, Stewart Stevenson as Scottish Energy Minister was at the Rio Earth Summit in 2012, in the UK delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg. So there is no constitutional impediment in this case. The other reason given was the UK allocation of places was filled by ministers and senior officials. My experience of these events is that delegations often also include representatives from business and civil society, but you report that for security reasons, details of who is on the delegation UK were withheld. However, recently, UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening announced the names of the two young people who would be part of the UK official delegation and “will participate in debate and dialogue with heads of states”. This summit is not just about foreign aid – it includes sustainable development goals for the next 15 years, which also affect devolved matters and would require commitments by a Scottish Government. It is a pity that the previous inclusive approach has been abandoned.
Kevin Dunion
Perth
The UK dedicates 0.7% of its budget to international development and this has been ringfenced even during recent recessions. The Scottish Government's own contribution to such a cause is only a £9m fund, which is 0.03% of the Scottish budget. The reason for this is that, constitutionally, it is not the role of the Scottish Government to co-ordinate international development.
Humza Yousaf MSP is no more "banned" from the summit than I (as layperson) am "banned" from it; it's not my job to attend and my presence would not be helpful. Of course, I have lots of alternative methods of making my voice heard on this important matter.
Notwithstanding, Scotland is in fact fairly represented in this field at the UK level – Dr Lisa Cameron (of the SNP) is indeed on the parliamentary committee for international development. The article omits this information and therefore does seem to falsely suggest Scotland is being marginalised politically in this case.
Anton Zhyzhyn
Glasgow
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