Scottish Government
 Printable version
|
Response to Devolution (Further Powers) Committee
Deputy First Minister comments on Committee's report on new powers.
Responding to yesterday's Devolution (Further Powers) Committee report on new powers for Scotland, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said yesterday:
"I welcome this all party report which endorses our long held view that the draft clauses published by the UK Government before the election simply fail to reflect the Smith Commission recommendations.
"I share the Committee’s concern that in a number of key areas, particularly in relation to welfare, the draft clauses do not meet the spirit or substance of Smith. I expect the UK Government to take the unanimous views of the Devolution Committee very seriously and amend the Scotland Bill before it is introduced.
"As the First Minister told Parliament yesterday, we will press the Prime Minister to devolve further job creating and revenue raising powers to the Scottish Parliament. Within that context we will continue to put forward constructive proposals to ensure UK legislation delivers both the spirit and letter of agreements between the Scottish and UK Governments."
Notes To Editors
The Committee report: New Powers for Scotland: An Interim Report on the Smith Commission and the UK Government’s Proposals is available athttp://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_ScotlandBillCommittee/Reports/dfpr-15-03w-rev.pdf
