Scotland Bill

Baroness Linklater of Butterstone Excerpts

Tuesday 6th September 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Linklater of Butterstone]

My Lords, there are so many infinitely abler, wiser and more experienced speakers in this important debate. As I am 21st on this list and we are just about halfway there, noble Lords will be pleased to hear that I have considerably filleted my speech.

There is no doubt that, as devolution has developed in Scotland, the appetite for more powers for the Scottish Parliament has grown rather than declined. Every poll suggests that and every survey of public opinion confirms it. What the Scots seek is not so much more power for its own sake as better, more effective government that addresses and tackles the serious problems confronting the nation, including the need to turn around its economy, improve its schools and do something to improve its appalling health record, to mention just three. When Sir Kenneth Calman’s commission examined what steps should be taken to enhance the role of the Parliament, it bore this issue very much in mind.

There has been a huge debate in Scotland over whether Calman goes far enough, and whether this new Scotland Bill properly reflects that appetite for change. There was, however, general agreement that giving Scotland greater tax-raising powers was an essential next step. A devolution settlement which simply continued the reliance on a block grant from Westminster was ultimately no settlement at all. It not only embedded a dependency culture, it offered no stimulation to the spirit of enterprise which is the vital spark of a vibrant economy, and for which Scots have been so famous in the past.

Unless Scotland is allowed greater opportunities to stand on its own feet, and to take responsibilities for raising, as well as spending, its own taxes, it will never truly rediscover its innate potential. This Bill, unlike its groundbreaking predecessor—in which I was proud to be involved—is work in progress to that end. That it is cautious seems good to me, and a good thing particularly in the midst of a global crisis, when it would surely have been foolhardy to attempt any major leap into the unknown. There has been much talk in the north of fiscal autonomy, but far too little real work on what that actually means, what its implications would be, or, above all, on whether Scotland is actually ready for it. There are far too many questions still to be addressed to be able confidently to say that we are ready for wholesale fiscal reform.

This Bill will give the Scottish Parliament responsibility for raising and spending about a third of its taxes. This will undoubtedly increase over time; but it will increase only if the measures contained in the Bill are seen to work. Scots, I believe, are essentially pragmatic and canny, and want sensible, workable progress, not leaps into the unknown. There is no mandate for independence, but there is a mandate for moves towards greater fiscal responsibility, which this Bill represents. It gives the Scottish Government the potential to benefit from its own economic achievements, to expand the tax base, and potentially to increase the revenue base—despite the problems and pitfalls that have already been so graphically and thoroughly described this evening.

I have one, overarching, concern, to which Calman also alludes: the nature of a practical, working relationship between England and Scotland in the new, devolved world. It is not a specific issue for this Bill, but it concerns the way we work together. I have watched with concern a sort of disengagement, which I think reflects a lack of active, practical connection between our two Governments. People in Westminster and beyond have almost no idea what is going on in Holyrood, what the big issues are or how things are tackled—and vice versa. It is not antipathy, but I think it is apathy. I declare an interest as my husband is deeply involved in press matters in Scotland as the editor of the Scottish edition of the Times, and issues which may be the stuff of headlines in the Scottish press simply do not get a mention in England. It is as though for those down here the Scots and their issues have floated off their mental maps, leaving those in the north to get on with our separate business. It may be not entirely irrelevant that there are very few English men or women participating in this very important debate. Indeed Calman recommends,

“a greater degree of engagement between the two Parliaments”,

and he is right. It is not an active problem yet, but it is a matter of regret and should be kept under review.

As was mentioned earlier, it was the Welsh politician, Ron Davies, who first said that devolution was,

“a process, not an event”,

and “process’ is the right word, because the scope to explore the opportunities as well as the pitfalls of devolution is still relatively new and still being developed. It was Scotland's first First Minister, Donald Dewar, who personified that sensible, pragmatic approach. His early death was a tragedy for Scotland but his legacy is the successful process of devolution that has taken Scotland forward over the past decade to where we are now. It will and must maintain its active participation in a United Kingdom while developing its own distinctive policies. That approach is reflected in the Bill. Donald Dewar would, I am sure, have approved of it—and so do I.