Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc.) Order 2025
Martin McCluskey (Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West) (Lab)
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the Draft Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc.) Order 2025.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I am grateful for the opportunity to debate this order today. It is the result of collaborative working between the UK and Scottish Governments. The order follows agreement by the previous Government to transfer to Scottish Ministers the function of making environmental outcomes report regulations—replacing environmental impact assessments—in respect of electricity works consenting in Scotland and the Scottish part of the renewable energy zone, so that the power will be held concurrently with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The transfer of functions reinstates powers lost by Scottish Ministers on repeal of the European Communities Act 1972.
The order before us will be made under section 63 of the Scotland Act 1998, which provides for any functions, so far as they are exercisable by a Minister of the Crown in or as regards Scotland, to be exercisable by the Scottish Ministers concurrently with the Minister of the Crown. This Scotland Act order is a demonstration of devolution in action.
By way of background, the UK operated a system of environmental impact assessment as a result of powers conferred by the European Communities Act 1972. The function of making environmental impact assessment regulations in respect of electricity works consenting in Scotland had been transferred to the Scottish Ministers, concurrently with the Secretary of State, in 1999. Following the designation of the Scottish part of the renewable energy zone, the extent of the Scottish Ministers electricity consent functions was extended to the Scottish part of the renewable energy zone. Subsequently, the Scottish Ministers’ associated EIA regulation-making powers were also extended to the Scottish part of the REZ.
The power to make environmental impact assessment regulations was lost on repeal of the European Communities Act 1972. The UK Government then took powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023 to make environmental outcomes report regulations, intended to replace environmental impact assessment regulations. This instrument transfers functions to Scottish Ministers to make regulations under part 3, chapter 1 and part 6 of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023, in relation to the assessment of the effects on the environment in connection with applications for consent, approval or variation of consent for electricity generating stations and associated overhead line infrastructure. Those functions will be exercisable concurrently with the Secretary of State. Before the Scottish Ministers seek to exercise functions by virtue of this order, they will be required to consult with the Secretary of State.
The order reflects a commitment made to the Scottish Government during the passage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act 2023. I am pleased that the UK Government are working to address that matter.
Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Vickers. I am not surprised in the least to see the level of attention this order has drawn from across the House—a full house to debate an incredibly important issue.
As the Minister set out in his speech, the nub of this particular draft order is a plan to enable the exercise of concurrent powers in relation to assessing the environmental impact of and granting consent, or otherwise, for generating stations and overhead lines in Scotland, essentially devolving powers to make environmental outcomes report regulations in these areas to the Scottish Government.
We will not oppose this measure on the basis that it is our longstanding position to support the giving of powers that existed prior to our departure from the EU, and we recognise that Scottish Ministers are not currently able to amend or replace the processes in the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017, which underpin the regime for environmental assessments for electricity works, and which are devolved to the Scottish Government.
The Minister rightly points out that this work was begun under the previous Government, but times change and it is with regret that we cannot actively support this draft order because we have real concerns about the direction of travel of the key underlying policy areas under the new Labour Government. First, on pylons and overhead lines, we are very concerned by the Energy Secretary’s approach to building pylons across the United Kingdom. I can certainly say that in my constituency and across rural Scotland there is anxiety that pylons will spoil the countryside, restrict agricultural land use and leave homeowners unable to move or secure a mortgage for houses beside planned infrastructure build. As we set out in our manifesto, our clear preference is for undergrounding, where it is cost competitive. We worry that this Government—and the Scottish Government—have an ingrained disposition against undergrounding.
Secondly, under the plan set out in the order, Scottish Ministers would have to consult the Secretary of State before exercising the powers. But there is no proper detail about what would happen in the case of a divergence of views, or if the Scottish Government pursue an approach that is out of step with that preferred by the Secretary of State. Thirdly, following on from that point, we are yet to see a convincing plan that demonstrates how this extra layer will avoid added complexity in an area of planning and consenting that is already incredibly complicated and diverges hugely across the nations of the United Kingdom.
For those reasons—and those reasons alone—and despite the overriding principle of devolving powers from the EU to the Scottish Government, we will abstain on this order.
Martin McCluskey
The speech from the shadow Minister goes to the heart of the issue with the current Conservative party in abandoning some of their previous work purely for political expediency. The shadow Minister mentioned divergence: devolution allows for divergence, but the order clearly demonstrates that Scottish Ministers seeking to exercise functions by virtue of this order will be required to consult with the Secretary of State.
Given that the shadow Minister has responsibility for Scotland and energy, I am very disappointed that he seems to be continuing the roadblocks that we saw from the previous Government to getting Britain building, restoring and renewing our energy system, which we need to do if we are to achieve the growth we require in this country. I welcome his lack of opposition, but I am disappointed that he cannot support work that the previous Government started. The instrument demonstrates the continued commitment of the UK Government to work with the Scottish Government to deliver for Scotland.
Question put and agreed to.