Government urged to consider axing Scotland Office

MPs say a new department for constitutional affairs should take on the UK government’s role in devolved areas


Photo: PA

By Nicholas Mairs

07 Jun 2019

Ministers should consider scrapping the Scotland Office and replacing it with a new department that oversees UK constitutional affairs, according to MPs.

The Scottish Affairs Committee said there were question marks over whether the department - which represents the UK government north of the border - should continue to exist given that the SNP administration at Holyrood mostly works with others, such as the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs.

In a report, the MPs call for the Scotland Office's work to "be dealt with by an altogether different model of devolved representation in Whitehall, such as a single department responsible for devolution and constitutional affairs" and call for a probe on whether the respective offices for Wales and Northern Ireland could also be included in a single department responsible for constitutional affairs and inter-governmental relations.


RELATED CONTENT


The committee's recommendation comes as part of wider calls for an overhaul of the links between London and Edinburgh, which they said had been characterised by a lack of trust following the Brexit vote.

They added that relations between the UK and Scottish governments have become “fractious” since the SNP took power in 2007, when the two governments were led by different parties for the first time.

The committee says the 2014 Scottish independence referendum saw tensions “peak” while the EU referendum result – where Scots voted overwhelmingly to stay in the EU while England and Wales voted for Brexit – has prompted “mutual distrust and political stalemate."

They add that both governments need to “fundamentally” change their approaches to devolution in order to cooperate on Brexit, and that a lack of trust risks their ability to achieve any policy reforms.

Committee chair Pete Wishart said: “The Scotland Office is meant to ensure that Scottish interests are fully represented at the heart of the UK government, but my committee heard that on a day-to-day basis it is Whitehall departments which maintain the relationship with the Scottish Government.

“We are therefore calling for a review of the role of the Scotland Office and the Secretary of State for Scotland, which we argue should include an exploration of the option to combine the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Offices into one department responsible for intergovernmental relations and devolution.”

Responding to the report, a UK government spokesman said that "it is simply untrue to say that relations between the two governments have broken down".

They added: "With the Scottish Government proposing an unwanted and divisive second ‎independence referendum next year, that role is more important than ever.

"Scotland's two governments enjoy a close working relationship, as ‎the secretary of state's evidence to the committee showed.

"We are pleased the committee acknowledged our joint efforts to develop common frameworks in areas such as agriculture when we leave the EU, which will strengthen the UK's internal market."

Read the most recent articles written by Nicholas Mairs - EU leaders agree to 31 January Brexit extension

Share this page