Commons minister: Holyrood will have to wait three years for new powers in full Friday 3 October 2014 SCOTLAND will have to wait at least three years - until 2017 at the earliest - for the full implementation of enhanced powers to Holyrood, a UK Government minister has indicated. john SWINNEY: To reveal income tax rate at Budget next year. The senior source, who is close to David Cameron, suggested the extra powers within the 2012 Scotland Act will have to be introduced first before any further changes can be implemented. One key change is the setting up of a new Scottish rate of income tax. John Swinney, the Scottish Finance Secretary, is due to announce the level of the rate in his Budget next year but it will not come into effect until 2016. The UK minister explained how the granting of more powers to Holyrood would be in the first Queens Speech following the May 2015 General Election, which will set out the new governments legislative programme. There would then, he stressed, be an involved process of lengthy debates in the Houses of Commons and Lords. This, he said, would be made more complicated by the parallel process of English votes for English laws, so-called Evel, in which Scottish MPs would be restricted on what UK legislation they could vote on. The senior source also pointed out that on a practical level a new Revenue Scotland, set up to collect some of the new taxes devolved under the 2012 Act, would have to be significantly expanded to take on the role for Scotland currently undertaken by HMRC. We are fully committed to giving Scotland more powers as has been made clear, but it is not something that can happen overnight. It is complicated and will take time, explained the minister. Had Scots voted Yes on September 18, the Scottish Government would have begun a complex set of negotiations with Whitehall with full independence envisaged to start from March 2016. However, during the referendum campaign the Prime Minister stressed the process of introducing enhanced powers would begin soon. And the vow of the three UK party leaders spoke of how a No vote would deliver faster, safer, better change than separation. Following the referendum result, the political process of delivering more powers for Scotland has already been hit by complications, with the different parties wanting varying levels of devolved income tax. Secondly, the Lib-Con Coalition has made it clear the promise of more Scottish devolution is not contingent on that of more devolution for England but some Tories, such as Surrey MP Dominic Raab, believe it should be. Gordon Brown, the former Labour leader, has branded Evel a Tory trap as it could be used to restrict Scottish MPs from voting on key financial issues, such as the annual Budget, which will continue to a major impact on Scotland regardless of enhanced devolution. Ahead of a Commons debate on devolution later this month, the Kirkcaldy MP has collected nearly 100,000 signatures opposing Evel. Furthermore, the SNP have insisted any attempt by Mr Cameron to link the Scottish and English devolution issues will enrage the Scottish public. * The UK Government has rejected a call by Nicola Sturgeon to halt the introduction of universal credit in Scotland. The Deputy First Minister had written to David Cameron demanding a delay while new powers for the Scottish Parliament are being considered. She claimed that bringing in the new universal credit, which will roll six existing benefits and tax credits for working-age people into a single payment, would make it harder to devolve housing benefit.--https://facebook/EuCitizensForAnIndependentScotland Comments iain Lawson, Paisley By the time Westminister is finished with more powers for Scotland, the Egyptians could build a new set of pyramids. It is of course the ultimate insult, what only a fortnight ago was being talked about by Mr Brown of taking only a matters of months is now several years away already. I am reminded of the little boy who asked his Dad about what the difference was between Devolution and Evolution. His father replied devolution takes a lot longer. GRAHAM HANSON, GALASHIELS Ever been had? You have now you mugs. Jonathan McMonagle Right everybody, whether youre red or blue, you need to start looking for reasons why we cant give those Jocks any extra powers. The most plausible, while still making it look like we care, wins a years worth of expenses Peter Piper, Ayrshire Nope. Thats not what Scotland voted 55% NO on, this is: All three party leaders have signed up for the plan to get an enhanced devolution package on the statute books by Burns Night next year – January 25 – in the event of a No vote in the referendum. That was the VOW. Patricia Calder, GLASGOW There we have it. More of the same for Scotland. A nuclear dump and all set to become the fracking centre for the UK. All the Westminster politicians who scrambled over the border for the first time to tell us how much Scotland was loved and valued by the rest of the UK will never be seen again. They promised immediate new powers after a NO vote but in Westminster speak immediate is at least three years if ever at all. Better together indeed. Proud Scots and proud To be British. I hope the proud Scots experience an extra surge of pride when they type their postcode into the greenpeace website and see if their area is under threat from fracking. After they have checked their own postcode they may like to type in some of the post codes closer to London and compare the difference. Ineos now has the fracking rights around Grangemouth and the Firth of Forth. Trident prevented oil exploration in the firth of Clyde but we can certainly have fracking in the Firth of Forth. Fracking will decimate local house prices and present potential health problems but at least we can still take pride in being better together. What a future to pass to our Children living in Scotland. The gift of nuclear and fracking dangers but at least we can teach them how to be proud Scots. Paul Cochrane, Paisley Scotland is now back in its box. Westminster can carry on as normal, throwing a few scraps at us and dangling sweets at the end of a fishing line that never quite reaches us. Shameful. Jon Legorburu, Ayr Peter Piper, Ayrshire Has anyone seen the signed plan, or even what the plan is? Patricia Calder, GLASGOW Jon Legorburu, Ayr I hope it doesnt go missing as some previous Westminster dossiers have done in the past. Bill Brown What do the Loch Ness Monster, the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and The Vow all have in common?
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 07:03:15 +0000
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