The Scottish “government” is not the government of a state in confederation with England. It is a subordinate entity within the UK, with powers granted to it by the UK government and Parliament, and ultimately subject to the supremacy of that Parliament. ...
When the current Scottish Government says it brought in free tuition, it is referring to its abolition of the endowment in 2007. It is also often, in practice, describing its decision not to use devolved powers to copy either of the fee regimes which have applied in England since 2007. (i...
But let us now turn and deliver judgement on those areas where devolved power makes the Scottish government as autonomous now as it would be were Scotland fully sovereign – where the buck stops not with Boris Johnson, but the First Minster. We could pick out the CalMac ferries fiasco, and...
The Wales Act 2014 provides powers over Welsh income tax rates. Scottish and Welsh income tax is levied on income defined as income “unsaved, without dividend”; Overall, this includes employment income, self-employment benefits, pension income and income from assets received by persons who qualif...
Should the rest of the UK be entitled to vote in the Scottish independence referendum? Credit:Callum BlackCC BY-SA 2.0 Aspreviously discussed on Democratic Audit, the coming referendum on Scottish independence raises a number of important constitutional issues. However, it also raises some more fun...
This was partly related to the constitutional division of powers between the UK and Scotland, with the former responsible for licensing exploration and the Scottish government having devolved control of planning, along with local authorities across Scotland. The government in Westminster has powers ...