On behalf of the Government I welcome the publication on 2 December of the first report from the Commission on Scottish Devolution.

The Commission was set up by the Scottish Parliament and is fully supported by the UK Government. The Commission’s mandate is—

“to review the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998 in the light of experience and to recommend any changes to the present constitutional arrangements that would enable the Scottish Parliament to serve the people of Scotland better, improve the financial accountability of the Scottish Parliament, and continue to secure the position of Scotland within the United Kingdom.”

Publication of this first report demonstrates the wide-ranging engagement the Commission has undertaken across Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.

The Government will consider this first report in detail. We look forward to providing additional evidence to the Commission and to receipt of the final recommendations of the Commission in due course.

I have arranged for copies of the first report to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.