The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been granted power by the Parliament under their respective legislators in all areas except those which are reserved (or excepted in the case of Northern Ireland). Because the Parliament acts with sovereign supremacy, it is still able to pass legislation for all parts of the United Kingdom, including in relation to devolved matters.[1]
Devolution of powers
The devolution of powers are set out in three main acts legislated by the UK Parliament for each of the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The acts also include subsequent amendments, which devolved further powers to the administrations:
In Northern Ireland, the powers of the Northern Ireland Assembly do not cover reserved matters or excepted matters. In theory, reserved matters could be devolved at a later date, but excepted matters were not supposed to be considered for further devolution. In practice, the difference is minor as Parliament is responsible for all the powers on both lists and must give its consent to devolve them.
In Scotland, a list of reserved matters is explicitly listed in the Scotland Act 1998 (and amended by the Scotland Acts of 2012 and 2016). Any matter not explicitly listed in the Act is implicitly devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
In Wales, a list of reserved matters is explicitly listed under the provisions of the Wales Act 2017. Any matter not explicitly listed in the Act is implicitly devolved to the Senedd. Before 2017, a list of matters was explicitly devolved to the then known National Assembly for Wales and any matter not listed in the Act was implicitly reserved to Westminster.
Scotland and Wales
ScotlandWales
The devolution schemes in Scotland and Wales are set up in a similar manner. The Parliament of the United Kingdom has granted legislative power to the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd through the Scotland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 2006 respectively. These Acts set out the matters still dealt with by the UK Government, referred to as reserved matters.
Anything not listed as a specific reserved matter in the Scotland Act or the Wales Act is devolved to that nation. The UK Parliament can still choose to legislate over devolved areas.[1]
The legal ability of the Scottish Parliament or Senedd to legislate (its "legislative competence") on a matter is largely determined by whether it is reserved or not.[2][3][4][5]
Additionally, in Wales, all matters concerning the single legal jurisdiction of England and Wales are reserved, including courts, tribunals, judges, civil and criminal legal proceedings, pardons for criminal offences, private international law, and judicial review of administrative action. An exception in Wales allows the Senedd to create Wales-specific tribunals that are not concerned with reserved matters.
Specific reservations cover policy areas which can only be regulated by Westminster, listed under 'heads':
^The Scotland Act contains numerous exceptions to the reserved powers concerning insolvency.
^The construction of railways and the franchising of passenger services is devolved in Scotland.
^These powers are mostly reserved, but the Scottish Parliament can legislate on various disability, industrial injuries, and carer's benefits, maternity, funeral and heating expenses benefits, discretionary housing payments, and various schemes for job search and support.
^The matter of poisons appears under Head B in the Wales Act.
^There are no coroners in Scotland. Instead, deaths that need to be investigated are reported to the procurator fiscal.
^Gender recognition is not explicitly reserved under the Scotland Acts. However, in 2023 the Secretary of State vetoed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill under Section 35 of the 1998 Act on the grounds that it affected the operation of the Equality Act 2010, which is reserved.
^This is a specific reservation in Scotland and a general reservation in Wales.
The reserved matters continue to be controversial in some quarters [citation needed] and there are certain conflicts or anomalies. For example, in Scotland, the funding of Scottish Gaelic television is controlled by the Scottish Government, but broadcasting is a reserved matter, and while energy is a reserved matter, planning permission for power stations is devolved.
Schedule 5 to the 2006 Act could be amended to add specific matters to the broad subject fields, thereby extending the legislative competence of the Assembly.[11]
This was the first practical example of devolution in the United Kingdom and followed three unsuccessful attempts to provide home rule for the whole island of Ireland:
Irish unionists initially opposed home rule, but later accepted it for Northern Ireland, where they formed a majority. (The rest of the island became independent as what is now the Republic of Ireland.)
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was abolished outright by the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973;[14] legislative competence was conferred instead on the Northern Ireland Assembly. The 1973 Act set out a list of excepted matters (sch. 2) and "minimum" reserved matters (sch. 3).
The new constitutional arrangements quickly failed, and the Assembly was suspended on 29 May 1974,[15] having only passed two Measures.[citation needed]
Policy in these areas is technically devolved but, in practice, follows policy set by the Westminster Parliament to provide consistency across the United Kingdom.[24]
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