AN SNP minister has claimed that his administration will have to pin hopes on dealing with a “sympathetic minister” in Westminster to avoid the UK’s internal market plans potentially derailing Scottish Government policies.
The Scottish Government has opposed the controversial UK Government legislation and MSPs failed to give their consent to the post-Brexit plans amid concerns it overrides the devolution settlement and hands devolved powers to UK ministers.
The internal market act sets out the trading relationship between the four nations of the UK and hands UK Ministers new spending powers in devolved areas.
SNP Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary, Angus Robertson, has told MSPs that Scottish Government policies such as plans to eliminate single-use plastics could be threatened by the UK Government legislation.
Speaking at Holyrood’s Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, Mr Robertson warned the internal market act poses “a fundamental change to the devolved settlement”.
He added: “Now what we are confronted with is an effort by the UK Government to put the gains of devolution at risk by taking control once again of key devolved powers and doing that without consent.
“The majority of the Scottish Parliament agrees with that and has voted overwhelmingly to refuse consent. No devolved legislature has consented to the act.
“The act has been imposed on us. Those concerns continue to be dismissed by UK ministers as scare mongering.”
“We know have a growing body of evidence that vindicates our position, vindicates our concerns of the overwhelmingly majority of the Scottish Parliament.
“The act means that devolved powers will now be exercised in a system controlled by UK ministers.
“It allows, for the first time, UK ministers to decided how money in Scotland should be spent on wholly devolved policy areas spanning culture, sport, education, economic development and infrastructure – money that should be for the Scottish Parliament.”
Conservative MSP Domald Cameron said Mr Robertson was pointing to “hypothetical” scenarios, adding that things were “very much in the realms of what could happen”.
But Mr Robertson said that the Scottish Government is having to gamble with which Tory ministers they are dealing with as to whether barriers could be put up to halt devolved legislation.
He said: “We may be really fortunate in some instances and find that we have a sympathetic minister in Defra, for example, or in another UK ministry who goes ‘okay, we see why the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament wants to do this – I'm going to be gracious enough to allow people elected to do those things to get on and do them’.
“But equally we may find that there’s others who are less empathetic, sympathetic and understanding.”
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