The convener of a key Holyrood committee has warned the UK Government not to get off to a false start with the introduction of legislation to implement further devolution to Scotland.
SNP MSP Bruce Crawford, convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Devolution Committee, called on the Conservative Government to ensure that the new Scotland Bill is fit for purpose before its introduction next Thursday.
MSPs were debating a report by the committee which concluded that the draft legislation does not meet “the spirit or the substance” of the Smith Commission recommendations it was designed to implement.
Opening the debate at Holyrood, Mr Crawford said: “The committee has called on the new UK Government to seriously consider the areas which we’ve highlighted which we believe the draft clauses fall short in.
“The UK Government must ensure that the Bill, expected to be published next week , is strengthened to fully deliver on the Smith recommendations.
“If the UK Government is getting ready to fire the starting pistol by introducing the Scotland Bill next week, then my committee is saying that we’re not yet at the starting line, so let’s not have a false start.
“Let’s try to get the legislation right at the outset of the journey.”
Members of the committee met with new Scottish Secretary David Mundell in London on Tuesday for “constructive” discussions following the publication of the report.
Mr Crawford said: “We were pleased that he signalled an imminent introduction of the Scotland Bill and that he’s planning to make some, and I stress some, changes to the Bill before introduction, most notably on the welfare clauses.
“We also said we would reserve judgement until we see the actual Bill as there’s still a lot of work ahead for the UK Government to get it right.
“We’d like to see as many changes as possible incorporated into the Bill before its introduction, and if that’s not possible then the Secretary of State for Scotland has a responsibility to clearly articulate what changes he intends to bring or make via Government amendments during the passage of the Bill.
“Let’s leave nothing to nuance or interpretations. We owe it to the people of Scotland to be crystal clear on what new powers are coming.”
Responding to the report, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “The shortfalls in the relevant draft clauses need to be addressed as a priority if the Scotland Bill to be viewed as a credible reflection of the Smith proposals.”
Prime Minister David Cameron met with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Friday to discuss further devolution beyond what was proposed by the Smith Commission in the wake of last year’s independence referendum.
Mr Cameron has said he could consider “sensible suggestions” on what additional powers could be transferred north.
Mr Swinney said: “There were clear commitments by the Prime Minister and Secretary of State that the Scotland Bill would implement the Smith Commission in full and, of course, we will test that commitment when we see the Scotland Bill on May 28.
“The Prime Minister undertook to consider proposals from the Scottish Government for devolution beyond the Smith Commission.
“We will put these proposals to the UK Government and I will meet the Secretary of State to discuss the next steps in this respect.”
He added: “Our priority is to ensure that the Scotland Bill reflects in full, in substance and in spirit, the contents of the Smith Commission report and to put to the UK Government our proposals to extend and expand the powers of this Parliament to enable us to be able to tackle the issues that matter to the people of our country.”