Devolution - Impacts of Devolution

Local Government In England:
  • 55 unitary authorities responsible for a full range of services
  • 27 county councils responsible for some local services e.g education
  • 201 districts responsible for some local services
  • 36 metropolitan branch councils responsible for local services in other areas.
What Did Bogdanor Say:
  • States that the UK has a quasi-federal state where it retains some features of a federal state and some of a unitary state
  • AV Dicey argues that there is no halfway house between Parliamentary Sovereignty and separatism.
Features Of A Quasi-Federal State:
  • Limited Parliamentary Sovereignty: In legal terms, Westminster is sovereign because it can overturn or abolish bills in the devolved bodies but, it does not have unlimited power. The Scotland Act of 2016 ensured that Westminster must get consent from Scotland before legislating. Also constrains Parliamentary Sovereignty by stating that devolution can be overturned by a referendum.
  • Quasi-Federal Parliament: Westminster is an English Parliament that makes domestic law in England but it is a federal Parliament for Scotland, Wales and NI because it has retained reversed powers on the states. MPs from the devolved states have few constituency responsibilities.
  • Joint Ministerial Committee: UK ministers and their counterparts from the devolved administrations meet here to consider non-devolved matters which will affect the devolved states and resolve disputes e.g Brexit and Scotland.
  • Supreme Court: UK Supreme Court resolved disputes over competences by determining if the devolved bodies have acted within their powers.
Policy Divergence:
  • Some policies in the devolved states are different to that of the UK government for England
  • Evident in health and education before devolution and has now become more pronounced since devolution.
  • But they can be regarded as positive as it responds to the concerns of the electorate
  • Some divergence was then taken up by the UK government such as the 5p plastic bag charge
  • Divergence may undermine the principle of equal rights for UK citizens such as NI where same-sex marriage remains illegal.
Funding:
  • Devolved states are funded by block grants settled by the Barnett formula
  • The formula translates changes in public spending into equivalent changes in the block grants for Scotland, Wales and NI.
  • NI receive more public spending per head of population than England does
  • In 2016: Scotland, £28 million, Wales: £14 million, NI: £10 million
  • Critics claim that this amounts to an English subsidy of the rest of the UK but Scotland and Wales have seen their fair share of public spending cut
  • Whilst not set in statute law, the government are committed to using it and has been reluctant to undertake major revisions in how they are calculated.
Britishness:
  • An umbrella identity that provides a common bond between the people of the UK whilst maintaining their distinctive national identities.
  • Number of people describing themselves as primarily Scottish, Welsh and Irish has increased favouring things like EVFEL and independence from the UK
What Next:
  • The end point is uncertain, whilst it was designed to safeguard the union it has become weaker
Should The UK Become A Federal State:
Yes
No:
The creation of federal state would provide a coherent constitutional settlement for the UK and its nations, establishing a clearer relationship between the different devolved governments.
Federalism works best in states in which there is not a dominant nation or region (USA), it is unsuitable for the UK where England makes 4/5 of the population
Establishing a federal state would resolve some anomalies (WLQ) that have arisen under the current ad-hoc approach to devolution
An English Parliament would rival Westminster Parliament particularly if different governments were in government in both England and the UK, and English MPs could still be a majority at Westminster
Creating an English Parliament and government as part of a federal UK would answer the English question
Measures to reduce the dominance in England such as the creation of elected assemblies in the English regions would be problematic and unpopular
The status of Westminster Parliament would be clarified, it would be a federal Parliament dealing with issues such as border control and defence
Disputes over funding occur in federal states, creating a federal UK would not automatically resolve difficult issues such as equity of funding and welfare provisions
HOL could be reformed to become a chamber representing the component nations of the UK, or abolish the HOL altogether.
There is little public appetite for a federal UK with devolution being the preferred constitutional position for voters in Scotland, Wales and NI


Has Devolution Undermined The Union:
Yes:
No:
The piecemeal approach to devolution has meant that problems have not been addressed effectively
Devolution has answered Scottish, Welsh and NI demands for greater autonomy being decision making closer to the people
Insufficient attention has been paid to the purpose of the union
Devolution has proceeded relatively smoothly, without major disputes between the UK government and the devolved bodies
Rules of the game on policy coordination and disputes have not been clear enough
Policy divergence reflects the different interests of the nations and has allowed initiatives to be copied
Policy divergence has undermined the idea of a common welfare right in the UK
Most people in the UK still feel British, and devolution is the still the preferred constitutional matter rather than independence
SNP is the dominant party in Scotland and support for independence has increased
Devolution has delivered peace and power sharing in NI after 30 years of violence and instability.
Some unease in England about the perceived unfairness of the devolution settlement