The Scottish Parliament

1. The Scottish Parliament What has devolution ever done for us?

2. Devolution: The settled will of the Scottish people? Devolved powers • Health • Education • Local Government • Law • Social Work and Housing • Economic Development and Transport • The Environment • Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing • Sport and the Arts Reserved Powers • The constitution • Defence and national security • Foreign policy • Immigration • UK fiscal and monetary policy • Employment legislation • Social security • Transport and safety regulation • Others e.g. nuclear energy, broadcasting

3. Founding principle: Accessibility • Opportunity for Members Bills • E Democracy • Scottish parliament TV • Cabinet and Committee meetings around the country • Visitor Centre

4. Founding principle: Accountability The Scottish parliament has powerful committees. Ministers, including First Minister are held to account at First Minister’s Question Time. In 2008, Alex Salmond was quizzed over his involvement in the new Trump golf course. The First Minister has to account for his actions every week. First Minister’s Question Time

5. Founding principle: Equal opportunities? Scottish Politics, like politics elsewhere, remains dominated by white males. 34.8% of the Scottish Parliament is female, which is a higher percentage than many other parliaments. The Scottish parliament only meets during school term time and has family friendly working hours. There are no minority ethnic MSPs. Bashir Ahmad (SNP) who died in 2009 was the first ethnic minority MSP.

6. Founding principle: Sharing power Members of the public can try to change the law via online petitioning. In 2010, pupils from Waid Academy, Fife presented two petitions to the Scottish Parliament’s petitions committee; one of school age workers and another on free access for school age children to public swimming pools.

7. Multi party politics The AMS means that it is very difficult for one party to have an overall majority, unlike Westminster. MSPs must, therefore, have dialogue and compromise in decision making.

8. But smaller parties don’t always do so well.. The AMS does not guarantee small parties success. In 2007, the Greens were squeezed out by the rise of the SNP. In 2007, the Scottish Socialists imploded as its leader, Tommy Sheridan, formed a breakaway party after his court appearance.

9. The Scottish Government The Scottish Government is the civil service of the Scottish Parliament. It supports the Scottish Cabinet. The Scottish Government has offices across Scotland and in Brussels.

10. Ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces In 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed a ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces. The rest of the UK has subsequently followed. Smoking ban Scotland

11. No upfront tuition fees Unlike England, Scottish students at Scottish universities do not pay tuition fees. In 2008, the SNP Scottish Government also abolished the Graduation Endowment Tax, saving students a further £2000.

12. Free personal care for the elderly As we live longer, illnesses such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s have become more common. In 2002, the then Scottish Executive introduced free personal care for all elderly people in Scotland.

13. Standing Up to Anti Social Behaviour Scottish Governments have passed legislation to tackle “ned culture”. The SNP Government intends to end supermarket alcohol promotions and restrict the marketing of alcohol. Minimum Pricing of Alcohol

14. Anti-Racism One Scotland is the Scottish Government campaign designed to tackle racism. It aims to raise awareness of racist attitudes, highlight its negative impact and recognise the valuable contributions that other cultures have made to our society – and make Scotland no place for racism.

15. Limits to Scottish influence: Immigration Immigration remains a power reserved to the UK Parliament. There have been a number of high profile deportations from Scotland. The Calman Commission proposes greater consultation between Westminster and Scottish authorities on immigration policy. The Glasgow Girls campaign

16. Nuclear Power Scotland’s two nuclear power stations are due to be modernised in the next few years. Energy is a reserved power. But, Planning is a devolved power and the SNP is against nuclear power. Who will win this stand off?

17. Foreign Policy Post devolution there have been Scottish troops sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Scottish Parliament can discuss foreign policy but it has no decision making powers.

18. Foreign Policy But, Justice is a devolved powers and decisions made by Scotland’s Justice Secretary can have a major impact on UK foreign policy. In August 2009, Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny Macaskill released convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. He was diagnosed as having terminal cancer with an expected three months to live. Lockerbie bomber freed

19. Revenue Raising At present, the Scottish Parliament can vary income tax levels by 3p in the £. It has no powers over VAT. No Scottish Government has ever used it’s income tax varying powers. Some people are in favour of “Fiscal Autonomy”. Fiscal Autonomy would mean that instead of Scotland receiving the block grant from the Westminster, as at present, the Scottish Parliament would receive all taxation levied in Scotland and would then make payment to the UK government to cover Scotland's share of the cost of providing UK services. They feel that Scotland, particularly at a time of Westminster-led budget cuts, would be better off. Some economists and politicians disagree though, claiming Scotland would be worse off. John Swinney, Finance Secretary, in favour of Fiscal Autonomy