Transfer of devolved powers to the UK Government queries: FOI release

Information requested

1. Confirmation of whether any Section 30 Order has ever transferred devolved powers from the Scottish Government or Scottish Parliament to the UK Government Please confirm:

•  Whether any Order in Council made under Section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998 has ever had the effect of reducing the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, or
•  Transferring any devolved function, power, or area of responsibility from the Scottish Ministers to UK Ministers, or
•  Expanding any reservation in Schedule 5 in a way that removed powers previously exercisable by the Scottish Parliament or Scottish Ministers.

For the avoidance of doubt, this request concerns any transfer of competence from Scotland to the UK, regardless of subject matter, date, or political context.

2. If such a transfer has occurred
If the answer to any part of section 1 is “yes”, please provide:

•  The title of the relevant Section 30 Order
•  The date it was made
•  A copy of the Order in Council
•  Any accompanying Explanatory Notes
•  Any Scottish Government briefing, submission, or ministerial advice relating to the decision to agree to the transfer
•  Any correspondence between the Scottish Government and the UK Government relating to the transfer

3. If no such transfer has occurred
If the answer to section 1 is “no”, please provide:

•  A clear statement confirming that no Section 30 Order has ever transferred devolved powers from Scotland to the UK Government, and
•  Any internal Scottish Government analysis, legal advice summaries, or briefing papers (excluding privileged content) that discuss the absence of any such transfers.

4. Scope and format
Please treat this request as covering the period 1999 to the present.
I am content to receive the information electronically.

5. Public interest
Given the constitutional significance of Section 30 Orders and the importance of clarity regarding the boundaries of devolved competence, there is a strong public interest in full disclosure.

Response

Details of the instances of Section 30 Orders transferring devolved powers from the Scottish Government or Scottish Parliament to the UK Government can be found on the legislation.gov website. In each of these instances, the Scottish Parliament gave its approval to the making of the Order in advance of it being presented to the Privy Council, in line with schedule 7 of the Scotland Act 1998. Please see links below for further details.

1. 1999 Order

     Insertion of new reservation B13 on access to information

2.  2000 Sch 4 Order

     Provision on pension sharing arrangements

3. 2000 Sch 5 Order

    Adding national accreditation bodies to the reservation on product standards

4. 2004 Order

    Adding the Arts and Humanities Research Council to reservation C12

5. 2006 Order

    Adding the Commission for Equality and Human Rights to the list of reserved bodies in Para 3(2) of Part III of Sch 5

Para 3(2) of Part III of Sch 5

In terms of your request for submissions, advice to Ministers and correspondence between the Scottish and UK Government, due to the passage of time since the transfers listed above took place, the Scottish Government no longer holds this information and it will either have been destroyed or transferred to the National Records of Scotland for permanent retention.

Further details about the Scottish Government’s records management policy and the Public Records (Scotland) Act can be found at:

Scottish Government records management plan - gov.scot Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011

Public Records (Scotland) Act 2011

The National Records of Scotland may be able to assist you with your enquiry, and they can be contacted at:

Requesting information - National Records of Scotland (NRS)

This is a formal notice under S.17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested.

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.