Scotland Act 2016

The Scotland Act 2016 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 and devolves further powers to Scotland. The legislation is based on recommendations given by the report of the Smith Commission, which was established on 19 September 2014 in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum.

Main provisions

The act gives extra powers to the Scottish Parliament and a Scottish Government,^[1] most notably:^[2]

• The ability to amend sections of the Scotland Act 1998 which relate to the operation of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government within the United Kingdom including control of its electoral system (subject to a two-thirds majority within the parliament for any proposed change)
• Legislative control over areas such as road signs, speed limits, onshore oil and gas extraction, rail franchising, consumer advocacy and advice amongst others by devolution of powers in relation to these fields to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Ministers.
• Management of the Crown Estate, the British Transport Police and Ofcom in Scotland
• Control over certain removable taxes including Air Passenger Duty and Aggregates Levy
• Control over certain aspects of several welfare and housing related benefits and Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance and Carer's Allowance
• The ability to set Income Tax rates and bands on non-savings and non-dividend income
• Extended powers over Employment Support and Universal Credit
• The right to receive half of the VAT raised in Scotland.^[3]

The act recognises the Scottish Parliament and a Scottish Government as permanent among UK's constitutional arrangements, with a referendum required before either can be abolished. However, according to some commentators, the act institutes a weak statutory mechanism, which does not stipulate provisions or guarantees for such a referendum, or makes duties of Crown Ministers in this respect publicly answerable to the Scottish electorate.^[4]

Amendments

The UK Conservative government tabled around 80 amendments to the bill aimed at clarifying and strengthening some sections of it, and the House of Commons approved these. They included:

• Control over abortion laws and welfare foods
• Enhanced powers over welfare, including the ability to top-up any cuts to tax credits made by the UK.

About 120 amendments and new clauses were lodged on the bill by opposition parties but these were rejected by the Commons.^[5]

Fiscal framework

During the passage of the bill, almost a full year of negotiations took place between the Scottish and UK Governments concerning the fiscal framework that accompanied it. This was necessary because of the intention to reduce the block grant given to the Scottish government by HM Treasury to take account of the additional income the Scottish government will receive through retaining a portion of the revenues from income tax and VAT that are generated in Scotland.

The Smith Commission said that there should be “no detriment” to either government in this context, something which is technically difficult to achieve. A Scottish government proposal was that future adjustment to the block grant should be based on the “per capita index”, which takes into account the growth in tax receipts across the UK, not just Scotland. This is significant because Scotland’s economy and population are not growing as fast as the UK’s. However, the Treasury position was that this would be unfair to the rest of the UK.^[6]

See also

• for the Scotland Bill 1977–78, see Scotland Act 1978 (subsequently repealed)
• for the Scotland Bill 1997–98, see Scotland Act 1998
• for the Scotland Bill 2011–12, see Scotland Act 2012
• Constitution of the United Kingdom
• History of Scottish devolution
• Politics of the United Kingdom

References

Devolution in the United Kingdom
Devolved areas	National level Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Regional level (in England) Combined authorities Directly elected mayoralties Greater London Authority
Referendums1	English mayoral referendums London, 1998 2012 North East England 2004 Northern Ireland 1998 Scotland 1979 1997 Wales 1979 1997 2011
Heads of devolved governments	Chairs of combined authorities Directly elected mayors London (Mayor) Northern Ireland (FM and dFM) Scotland (FM) Wales (FM)
Devolved legislatures2	Northern Ireland Assembly National Assembly for Wales Scottish Parliament
Devolved administrations3	Northern Ireland Executive Scottish Government Welsh Government
Organisations and laws of the legislatures and governments of the UK and the devolved areas	Commissions (UK Parliament) Kilbrandon Commission Holtham Commission Silk Commission McKay Commission Commissions (devolved legislatures) National Assembly for Wales Richard Commission Holtham Commission Scottish Parliament Calman Commission Smith Commission Devolution acts Greater London Authority Acts 1999 2007 Northern Ireland Acts 1998 2006 Wales Acts 1998 2006 2014 2016–2017 Scotland Acts 1998 2012 2016 Select committees Northern Ireland Affairs Scottish Affairs Welsh Affairs Grand committees England Northern Ireland Scottish Welsh Departments and Territorial Offices (MOJ) Cabinet Office - Devolution Secretariat Ministry of Justice - Devolution Directorate-General Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Northern Ireland Office Scotland Office Wales Office
Elections	London Northern Ireland Scotland Wales
Related articles	Current Agreements/Treaties Anglo-Irish Treaty Good Friday Agreement Budget Barnett formula Block grant Constitution of the United Kingdom Reserved and excepted matters West Lothian question Proposals Cornwall Cornish Assembly Cornish Constitutional Convention Mebyon Kernow Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament Devolved English parliament Campaign for an English Parliament Northern England Campaign for the North Yorkshire First Other parts of Southern England Wessex Regionalist Party Scotland Full fiscal autonomy Historical Administrations of England English Regional Assemblies, 1998-2010 Administrations of London London County Council Greater London Council Administrations of Northern Ireland 1922–72 1974 Legislatures of Northern Ireland 1922–72 1973–74 1982–86 Northern Ireland-related legislation of the UK Parliament Ireland, 1886 Ireland, 1893 Ireland, 1914 Ireland, 1920 Irish Free State, 1922 Northern Ireland, 1974 Irish Home Rule movement Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Scotland Act 1978 Scottish Office Sunningdale Agreement Wales Act 1978 Welsh Office
1. Rejected referendums are italicised. The others were fully or partially approved. 2. There is no law-making body for any regionally devolved area. 3. Administrations of regionally devolved areas are omitted. Category