Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times the Scottish Parliament has passed a legislative consent motion for legislation regarding matters that were not at that time devolved under Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998, and in each case what reason was given for the motion.

This Government and its predecessors have always sought consent from the Scottish Parliament with regard to legislating on devolved matters under the Sewel Convention. The Convention does not require consent to be sought for matters which are reserved under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998, though the legislative consent process can be used to enable the Scottish Parliament to indicate its consent for certain matters to be transferred in or out of Schedule 5. For example, section 10 of the Scotland Act 2012 made provision for certain elements in relation to air weapons to be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and a Legislative Consent Motion was passed to cover this provision.