Minister raises concerns over lack of engagement by UK Government.

The process for post-Brexit planning needs to change so that the position of the Scottish Government – particularly in areas that directly affect devolution – is properly represented according to the Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe.

In a letter to the UK Government, Michael Russell has asked for the change in process to be made, setting out concerns over the lack of engagement on documents covering devolved areas such as science and innovation and areas that impact significantly on Scotland, such as future immigration and customs arrangements.

READ FULL LETTER ON GOV.SCOT https://news.gov.scot/resources/170906-daviddavismp

Source: https://news.gov.scot/news/brexit-planning-process-unacceptable

First Minister joins The Queen on historic day.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today accompanied Her Majesty The Queen for the official opening of the Queensferry Crossing.

The event marked the culmination of six years work to build the structure, involving more than 15,000 people, at a cost of £1.35 billion – £245 million under the original budget.

Following a ribbon cutting ceremony on the south side of the bridge, undertaken by Her Majesty, The Queen was accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh to an event on the north side where she unveiled a plaque officially declaring the Queensferry Crossing open.

This was followed a traditional folk performance by singer Karine Polwart, and the recital of a specially commissioned poem by Scotland’s Makar, Jackie Kay.

Showcasing a wide range of Scottish talent, there were also performances by, among others, KT Tunstall and King Creosote. The Red Arrows performed two flypasts above the bridge – going from south to north and also east to west across all three bridges while a flotilla comprising around ninety craft sailed below.

Speaking at the event, the First Minister said:

“This crossing is the tallest bridge in the UK. It has required 150,000 tonnes of concrete, 23,000 miles of steel cabling and 19 million hours of labour.

“But, far more important than those statistics are the benefits this bridge will bring. It will improve journey times, and bring benefits to families and businesses – not just in Fife and the Lothians, but across Scotland.

“It is already attracting global attention. Together, the three Forth bridges will bring people from around the world to admire their ingenuity and their beauty.

“It is an honour to have Her Majesty The Queen opening the new bridge for Scotland’s communities, just as she she opened the Forth Road Bridge, linking Fife and the Lothians.”

Source: https://news.gov.scot/news/queensferry-crossing-officially-opens

Embracing the future and advancing our economy.

(News Article from Scot Govt website www.gov.scot)

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will next week unveil her most ambitious Programme for Government yet, focused around a bold agenda to strengthen and modernise the economy.

The programme – which will include 16 bills to add to the 11 currently in progress – is expected to include major reforms in education, health and justice alongside significant measures to safeguard the environment and improve the quality of housing.

Next year will see the government take forward more legislation than at any point since devolution with 27 bills being taken forward, made up of 16 new pieces of legislation and 11 bills already been announced.

The First Minister said:

“In the last decade, we have achieved many things. We have fashioned Scotland as a modern and outward-looking place.

“I am proud of our work and all that we have achieved. Now we again look to the future. It is time to refocus our efforts and refresh our agenda to meet the changing needs of our people and the unprecedented challenges of our times.

“As technology rapidly advances, so too must our economy. We have a moral responsibility to tackle climate change and an economic responsibility to prepare Scotland for the new, low carbon world.

“This Programme for Government is our plan to shape the kind of Scotland we all seek – an inclusive, fair, prosperous, innovative country, ready and willing to embrace the future.

“It includes major reforms in education, health and justice, new opportunities for our communities and important measures to safeguard the environment and improve the quality of housing.

“Crucially, this Programme for Government also sets out a bold and forward-looking economic vision – sending a clear message to our people, businesses, schools, colleges and universities, and to the wider world: Scotland‘s ambition is to be the inventor and the producer, not just a consumer, of the innovations that will shape the lives of our children and grandchildren.”

The First Minister added:

“Of course, Brexit will continue to provide the backdrop to much that we do over the next year. The Scottish Government will continue to make the case for remaining in the single market and customs union. We will take whatever steps we can to protect our economy from the damage Brexit will do.

“But Brexit poses a threat to more than just our economy. It is also a threat to our rights as citizens. That’s why we will work to protect human, environmental, employment and consumer rights. And we will protect the Scottish Parliament by resisting any attempt at a power grab by the UK Government.

“Over the next few months, we will also set out the case for further extending the powers of the Scottish Parliament in areas such as immigration, social security, employment rights and trade – and highlight where additional powers would enable us to better achieve the ambitions in this programme. We will seek to build consensus across the political spectrum and civic society.

“This programme sets out our next steps in creating the better future we all want for our nation.”

Source Link: https://news.gov.scot/news/bold-plan-to-shape-scotland

M8 journeys cut by 20 minutes

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has officially opened the £500 million M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project, saving motorists up to 20 minutes on journey times.

The project, including the new seven mile stretch of the M8 motorway, aims to tackle congestion problems in central Scotland and is the first part of a combined £1.7 billion investment by Transport Scotland in the roads network.

New analysis by Transport Scotland shows journey times are significantly improved, with vehicles now travelling along the M8 at an average speed of almost 70mph, even during the busiest periods.

The journey time savings have been assessed as contributing more than £1bn to Scotland’s economy, improving the connections for businesses between Edinburgh and Glasgow and beyond.

Improved road safety through the reduction of traffic on local roads, is set to result in a predicted reduction of more than 100 accidents per year, and accident savings of more than £118m over a 30 year period.

Speaking at the Maxim Business Park at Eurocentral, the First Minister said:

“This new length of motorway has completed the M8 link between Glasgow and Edinburgh and Scotland’s previously most congested junction.

“The M8 is a vital link in the central belt and this newly completed section will help connect people to business, leisure and education opportunities and also creates a better environment for companies to do business.

“Businesses are already reporting a journey time saving of up to 20 minutes travel between Scotland’s biggest cities and a similar saving for those using Raith junction. These improvements and additional road capacity will ensure our economy has room to grow.

“With the completion of this project, and three others others – the Queensferry crossing, the first section of the A9 dualling and the Aberdeen bypass – by next spring, more than 250km of new roads will have been completed in the last 10 years – representing a total investment in construction of £2.81 billion.”

During construction, the project provided training and employment to more than 8000 workers, who contributed more than 6.5m hours of work to deliver these improvements.

It also project provided a minimum of 30 graduate and apprenticeship positions during the three year construction period, with a further 20 construction jobs each year aimed at the long-term unemployed. The project is also expected to provide sustainable long-term employment opportunities for approximately 60 full-time staff during the operation and maintenance of these routes over a 30 year period.

Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said:

“Connectivity between Scotland’s two biggest cities is vitally important for trade so we warmly welcome the completion of this major infrastructure project.

“The M8 M73 M74 road network is also a key link for people commuting to Glasgow, with shorter journey times a real benefit to businesses and the economy.

“Congratulations to Transport Scotland and its partners for delivering such an extensive project which will have a huge, lasting impact for travel across the country and beyond.”

Background
Work on the project started in February 2014 and all roads on the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project were opened to traffic in Spring 2017 as planned.

Project numbers:
• 6.5 million man hours worked
• 8,000+ people worked on site at various stages over the three years
• 418,000 trees & shrubs being planted as part of the project
• 95% of on-site waste recycled
• 16km of combined foot/cycle-ways built or upgraded
• 43 new structures including 15 new road bridges and 2 railway bridges
• 25km carriageway upgraded/built during construction
• 2,500,000m2 new road pavement laid
• 3,500,000m3 of cut
• 2,500,000m3 of fill
• 100km drainage

Further infrastructure projects set to complete include the Queensferry Crossing, AWPR & Balmedie to Tipperty and A9 Dualling Kincraig to Dalraddy.

This project marks the start of a year of infrastructure delivery across Scotland. By spring 2018, the total length of new and upgraded roads delivered in Scotland over a twelve month period will be 175km, including more than 61km of motorway and 75km of dual-carriageway. In addition, more than 54km of cycle routes and footpaths will have been completed.

Article Source: https://news.gov.scot/news/m8-journeys-cut-by-20-minutes

Scottish Government to recommend consent is rejected.

Speaking after today’s meeting with UK First Secretary of State Damian Green on the issue of the repatriation of powers following Brexit – which was also attended by Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Scottish Secretary David Mundell – Minister for UK Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe Michael Russell said:

“Today was a useful opportunity for an exchange of views between ourselves and the UK Government on Brexit and the repatriation of powers it will involve.

“But following today’s meeting we remain absolutely clear that, as things stand, we will not recommend to the Scottish Parliament that it gives its consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill.

“The bill as currently drafted is impractical and unworkable. It is a blatant power grab which would take existing competence over a wide range of devolved policy areas, including aspects of things like agriculture and fishing, away from Holyrood, giving them instead to Westminster and Whitehall.

“That means that unless there are serious and significant changes to the proposed legislation, the strong likelihood is that the Scottish Parliament will vote against the repeal bill.

“To be clear, that would not block Brexit and we have never claimed to have a veto over EU withdrawal.

“But UK Ministers should still be in no doubt – to override a vote of the Scottish Parliament and impose the EU Withdrawal Bill on Scotland would be an extraordinary and unprecedented step to take.

“What is now needed is a recognition from the UK Government that the bill as drafted cannot proceed. It should be changed to take account of the very serious concerns expressed by the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

“The current proposals are a direct threat to the devolution settlement which the people of Scotland overwhelmingly voted for in 1997.

“As we have made clear, we are not opposed in principle to UK-wide frameworks in certain areas – but this must be on the basis of agreement among equals, not imposed by Westminster.”

Article Source: https://news.gov.scot/news/brexit-bill-talks

Scot Gov News: Hundreds of schools to benefit.

More than £45 million will be provided to primary and secondary schools in 2017/18 to help close the poverty-related attainment gap, Deputy First Minister John Swinney announced today.

Nine local authorities and an additional 72 individual schools have been allocated funding from the Scottish Attainment Challenge, for education initiatives and projects targeting Scotland’s most deprived children.

Mr Swinney made the announcement during a visit to Newark Primary School Holiday Club in Port Glasgow where a range of opportunities for families to learn and play together over the school holidays has been made possible by previous Scottish Attainment Challenge funding. He said:

“Improving the education and life chances of our children and young people is the defining mission of this government. Central to this is the Scottish Attainment Challenge, which is providing £750 million during the course of this Parliament to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap by supporting hundreds of schools develop approaches to improve literacy, numeracy and health and well-being.

“During my visit to Newark Primary School I was able to see first-hand the very real benefit this funding is having on children and young people, their families and the wider community. Today’s announcement ensures local authorities and individual schools where the need is greatest have substantial additional funding for the coming year to tailor their plans based on their own circumstances.

“This work, along with the introduction of Pupil Equity Funding, forms the backbone of our focus to target resources where they are needed the most whilst also empowering schools to ultimately improve the life chances of all of children and young people in Scotland.”

Inverclyde Council Leader Councillor Stephen McCabe said:

“We have been able to more than double the provision of lunch clubs across Inverclyde this summer and hundreds of families have been enjoying the range of activities and lunches on offer.

“We recognise that key to closing the attainment gap is the involvement of parents and families in a child’s education – from attending parents’ evenings, parent councils and home learning – so that teaching in the classroom can be supported in the home.

“Families spending time together over the summer in a fun, relaxed and informal setting is a great way to start that process and also an opportunity for us to let people know about other resources and added support we have available to them.

“Inverclyde is performing very well when it comes to education and our £270 million investment in new and refurbished schools alongside the excellent work being undertaken as part of the Scottish Attainment Challenge to reduce the attainment gap linked to deprivation is playing a major part in that success.”

Article Source: https://news.gov.scot/news/gbp-45-million-to-close-attainment-gap

Scottish Parliament urged to back move to protect devolved powers.

Members of the Scottish Parliament must come together to ensure that Parliament retains its hard-fought for ability to make laws in devolved areas, Minister for UK Negotiations of Scotland’s Place in Europe Michael Russell said today.

Following publication of the EU Withdrawal Bill, Mr Russell has written to all MSPs to explain the implications of the Bill and to set out the Scottish Government’s position.

Mr Russell said that Scotland risks having to fight for powers that should rightfully belong to the Scottish Parliament, since the UK Government’s EU (Withdrawal) Bill contains no promise to protect these.

The UK Government acknowledges that the Bill requires the legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly of Wales, but without an explicit guarantee in the bill of powers going directly to devolved administrations, both governments have indicated that they will not recommend that consent be given.

Despite lifting the restriction on the UK requiring compliance with EU law, the Bill does the following to devolution:
•imposes new restrictions on the Scottish Parliament and Government
•provides Scottish Ministers with only limited powers to make corrections to EU law in devolved areas
•reserves to the UK Government alone control of the scope and extent of any UK-wide frameworks required to replace EU laws

Michael Russell, Minister for Negotiations on Scotland’s Place in Europe, said:

“Scotland will stand the best chance of keeping control of its devolved powers if the Scottish Government can act with the full backing of our national Parliament.

“The First Minister has already called on Members of the Scottish Parliament to join us now, with no equivocation, to back demands for the democratically elected Scottish Government to be at the table in the UK’s Brexit negotiating strategy. But we also need to make a stand against the UK Government retaining powers that rightfully should come to Scotland once repatriated from the EU.

“Scotland has been able to make its own decisions on Health, Justice, Education and many more since 1999 and we simply ask for a promise from the UK Government, to be written in the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, that Scotland – along with Wales and Northern Ireland – receive the powers that are justly theirs.”

Text of Mr Russell’s letter to MSPs below:

EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) BILL

Today the UK Government introduced the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill to the House of Commons.

This is a complicated and significant piece of legislation. It has fundamental implications not only for the UK’s membership of the EU, but also for the powers and role of the Scottish Parliament. I am therefore writing to all Members to draw it to your attention.

The published version of the bill can be found via the following link: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/2017-2019/0005/18005.pdf

The Bill does four main things. Firstly, it repeals the European Communities Act 1972. Secondly, it saves and incorporates EU law into domestic law as it exists on exit day, which it refers to as “retained EU law”. Thirdly, the bill gives UK Ministers powers in reserved and devolved areas to correct deficiencies in retained EU law arising as a result of withdrawal, prevent or remedy breaches in any international agreements arising from withdrawal and implement the withdrawal agreement. The Bill also gives Ministers from the devolved administrations their own versions of these three powers, although those are subject to a number of detailed restrictions. Finally, the bill imposes a new constraint on all of the devolution settlements which prevents the devolved administrations from modifying retained EU law, in policy areas that are otherwise devolved, unless what they are doing is in line with pre-existing EU law.

The Scottish Government has serious concerns about the bill in a number of areas.

Firstly, and most fundamentally, the competence restrictions imposed by the bill are asymmetrical. The bill lifts from the UK Government and Parliament the requirement to comply with EU law, but does the opposite for the devolved legislatures by imposing a new set of strict restrictions – restrictions which make no sense in the context of the UK leaving the EU.

To put it simply, in reserved areas that are currently subject to EU law, the UK parliament regains the ability to legislate without restriction. In devolved areas, the Scottish Parliament does not – it will only be able to do so in future if the UK government grants permission by Order in Council.

The result of those asymmetrical competence restrictions, will be to leave the ultimate decisions on UK-wide frameworks on matters that are otherwise devolved to the UK Government and Parliament. While the Scottish Government recognises that common frameworks to replace EU laws across the UK may be needed in some areas, the competence in matters that are otherwise devolved should revert to the Scottish Parliament, enabling the scope and content of any UK-wide frameworks to be agreed between the UK Government and the devolved administrations, rather than imposed.

We are also concerned that the scheme in the bill for correcting devolved law is unlikely to be workable in its current form. It creates a complex division of decision-making responsibility that does not reflect the reality of devolution. In particular, it empowers UK Ministers to make changes in devolved policy areas without ANY involvement of either the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliament. This includes policy areas, such as the Scottish justice system, where the Scottish Parliament has primary responsibility.

We have made clear to the UK Government that we are prepared to work with it to ensure that there is coherence and stability for both Scotland and the rest of the UK on the day the UK withdraws from the EU. We will take forward discussion of the bill and the UK Government’s proposals for implementation on that basis. However, we have also made clear that, in light of the concerns set out above, the Scottish Government would not be able to support the bill as it currently stands.

The Scottish Government’s concerns are shared by the Welsh Government. Members may wish to note that a joint statement was made by the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales setting out the position of the two governments on the bill.

https://news.gov.scot/news/eu-bill-doesnt-reflect-reality-of-devolution