David Cameron says UK Government plans to give more powers to Holyrood are the “right resting place” for Scottish devolution for the next five years.
The Prime Minister accused the SNP of trying to derail the work of the Smith Commission after Nicola Sturgeon claimed there had been a “significant watering down” of what was promised in the cross-party agreement.
Following a meeting between Mr Cameron and the First Minister, the Conservative leader dismissed criticism of the draft legislation clauses.
He said: “From my point of view, this is the right resting place because we’ve now got a very strong Scottish Parliament raising a majority of its revenue, with more powers than most other devolved parliaments in the developed world.
“I certainly don’t want to spend the next five years debating ‘is that the right balance of powers’? I want to spend the next five years debating how we help, together, make the Scottish economy stronger, make opportunity more equal in Scotland.”
Ms Sturgeon claimed the proposals “fell short” of what was offered in the Smith Commission.
She said: “The proposals on welfare do not allow us to vary Universal Credit without the permission of the UK Government. That means under the current proposals we will not have the independence to take action to abolish the bedroom tax.”
For full coverage of Mr Cameron’s trip to Scotland, see Friday’s Courier.