Government: Legislative Programme for Scotland

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin
My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Scotland (Des Browne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

The third Session UK legislative programme unveiled in the Queen's Speech on 6 November contains significant measures of relevance and benefit to the people of Scotland.

The Government are committed to continuing to deliver improvements to the lives of people across Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

The following is a summary of the legislation announced in the Queen's Speech and its impact in Scotland. This does not include draft Bills. The Bills listed in section 1 are not likely to contain provisions requiring the consent of the Scottish Parliament as the legislation is predominantly or wholly within a reserved area. Section 2 details Bills that are likely to contain provisions that require the consent of the Scottish Parliament in line with the Sewel convention. A brief description is provided of the provisions likely to require consent. Section 3 details Bills that predominantly apply to England and Wales only while also containing some significant reserved provisions which will have an impact in Scotland. The Bills listed in section 4 predominantly apply to England and Wales only and will have limited impact in Scotland.

The list also identifies the lead government department:

UK legislation in a wholly or predominantly reserved area, unlikely to contain provisions requiring the consent of the Scottish Parliament at introduction:

The Bills in this section which deal with predominantly or wholly reserved matters are detailed below. Discussions will continue between the Government and the Scottish Executive to ensure that if provisions relating to matters which trigger the Sewel convention are included, the consent of the Scottish Parliament will be sought for them:

Banking (HMT);
 

Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) (Department for Transport);
 

Child Maintenance and Other Payments (Department for Work and Pensions);
 

Counter Terrorism (Home Office);
 

Crossrail (Department for Transport);
 

Employment (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform);
 

Energy (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform);
 

European Communities (Finance) (HMT);
 

European Union Reform Treaty (Foreign and Commonwealth Office);
 

Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Department of Health);
 

National Insurance Contributions (HMT);
 

Political Party Funding and Expenditure (MoJ); and
 

Pensions (Department for Work and Pensions).
 

Legislation likely to contain provisions requiring the consent of the Scottish Parliament at introduction:

Discussions will continue between the Government and the Scottish Executive on Bills that might include provisions that trigger the Sewel convention. The Bills identified within the Queen's Speech in this section are as follows:

Climate Change (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)—Legislation relating to climate change is likely to include provisions in devolved areas to meet the new emissions target. The environment is a devolved matter in Scotland.
 

Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts (HMT)—Scottish Ministers will be provided with a power in this Bill to distribute funds drawn from dormant bank accounts—Welsh and Northern Irish Ministers will also have similar powers. This will enable Scottish Ministers to direct spending priorities for their share of these assets in Scotland.
 

Education and Skills (Department for Children, Schools and Families)—Education is a devolved matter but the Bill is likely to include provisions relating to data sharing that extend to Scotland to allow access to longitudinal surveys. This will enable assessments to be made on wage impact of education and training provisions.
 

Health and Social Care Bill (Department of Health)—Health is a predominantly devolved matter, but the Bill will contain provisions relating to the regulation of health care professions; where the regulation of particular professions is devolved, the consent of the Scottish Parliament is required in order to produce a consistent and fair system across the UK for healthcare professionals.
 

Legislation that predominantly applies to England and Wales only while also containing some significant reserved provisions which will have an impact in Scotland:

Criminal Justice and Immigration (Ministry of Justice)
 

Local Transport (Department for Transport)
 

Planning Reform (Department for Communities and Local Government)
 

Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions (Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform)
 

Legislation that predominantly applies to England and Wales only or which will have a limited impact in Scotland:

Children and Young Persons (Department for Children, Schools and Families)
 

Housing and Regeneration (Department for Communities and Local Government)
 

Sale of Student Loans (HMT).