Scotland Bill

Debate between Lord Kilclooney and Lord Kerr of Kinlochard

Thursday 15th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kerr of Kinlochard]

As always, the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, follows precisely the recommendations of the Scottish Parliament committee.

[Lord Kilclooney]

When discussing what should happen with Scotland, we should always also take into account not just England but Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland at the moment, as I understand it, there is already a variation in air passenger duty. Quite a few of the airports in the islands are already excluded, so the idea of having a different air passenger duty in Scotland is, in principle, accepted. If the power was devolved to a Scottish Parliament, would that lead to a reduction in the block grant to the Scottish Exchequer from the central Exchequer? Is there not something of a contradiction in government policy on the issue of air passenger duty, in that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is already recommending that air passenger duty should be transferred to the Stormont Executive?