Full fiscal autonomy policy: FOI Review

Information requested

Original request 202500459071

You noted that, "[i]n a letter to the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, dated 16th January 2025, Shona Robison said this: “Within the current constitutional settlement, full fiscal autonomy would be the Scottish Government's preferred option.” Full fiscal autonomy within the current constitutional settlement was not mentioned as a policy in the SNP’s 2021 election manifesto, and not has it featured in any “programme for government” in the current parliament."

You asked on what date did full fiscal autonomy become the policy of the Scottish Government?

Response

I wrote to you on 19 May to confirm that I will take forward the review of our response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) in which you asked on what date did full fiscal autonomy become the policy of the Scottish Government.

In requesting a review of our response you stated:

“Please review the above referenced FOI response. The response has been written by someone who doesn't know (or is pretending not to know) how election manifestos work. The SNP has fought and won two Scottish Parliament elections since it won the 2011 election standing on the 2011 manifesto. Neither the 2016 or the 2021 manifestos mentioned full fiscal autonomy (or full fiscal responsibility). It must therefore have become Scottish Government policy on a date since the 2021 election. Please, as requested, provide that date.”

I have now completed my review and I have concluded that the original decision and response should be confirmed, with some modifications.

As was set out in our original response to your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), the policy of full fiscal autonomy (then referred to as ‘Full Financial Responsibility’) was set out in the SNP’s manifesto in 2011.

The relevant text is noted here:

Making the Scotland Bill Better with Full Financial Responsibility

This election gives you the opportunity to secure a better deal for Scotland in two ways. As we have seen, with your support we can take forward our proposals for a referendum, and we can also, in the meantime, make the current Scotland Bill better.

The Scotland Bill does not contain any measure to create jobs in Scotland and does nothing to protect us from the worst of the Tory cuts. With your help in this election we can make sure the Scotland Bill is improved. We now know that financial responsibility, and indeed independence, for Scotland will allow us to deliver higher levels of economic growth. And that means we can protect more of the things that matter. Instead of a dismal decade of Westminster cuts, we can choose this better way. Our plan would see all tax raised in Scotland kept in Scotland. Instead of the Tory government in London deciding how much of our income we get to keep, the Scottish Parliament would make a payment for Scotland’s share of ongoing UK services such as pensions, foreign affairs and defence.

Whilst it is acknowledged that a manifesto pledge does not automatically become Government policy, the references below taken from the 2011 Programme for Government illustrate that the particular commitment on financial responsibility as described in the manifesto was translated into policy that same year:

“Our immediate constitutional priority is to press the UK Government to improve the provisions of the Scotland Bill. The UK Government has presented income tax proposals that, in their current form, pose a significant risk of prejudice to Scotland’s public finances and the interests of Scotland. As it stands, the Scotland Bill provides no meaningful economic levers to help promote economic development in Scotland. A stronger Scotland Bill, stripped of its flaws and devolving more economic powers – such as corporation tax and capital borrowing powers – would make a difference to Scotland.

The current debate over the provisions of the Scotland Bill will always fall short of the ambition we, and the people of Scotland, have for this country. The extent to which Scotland can control its own fortunes will determine the prospects for our children, jobs and communities. The vision of this government is more vital and compelling than the parameters of the current constitutional debate. We will put a new vision of a Scotland with full control over its own affairs, to the people in a referendum later in this Parliamentary session.”

Renewing Scotland: The Government's Programme for Scotland 2011-2012

The Scottish Government also outlined its views on full fiscal autonomy in its evidence to the 2014 Smith Commission, when Scotland’s devolved fiscal arrangements were last subject to substantial review.

Conversely, an issue does not have to be included in a party’s manifesto to become government policy; or to remain government policy in a new Parliamentary session. While manifestos are important for outlining a party's core policies and promises, they are not a comprehensive list of everything a government will do. Governments can implement policies not mentioned in their manifestos; where a government is returned after an election it can maintain policies previously stated.

In reviewing the response to your original request I consider that the additional information noting the translation of the manifesto commitment into policy, and on the relationship between manifesto commitments and government policy more generally, would have been helpful contextual information to provide. I therefore hope that this additional material is helpful.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.