In theUnited Kingdom,devolved matters are the areas of public policy where theParliament of the United Kingdom hasdevolved its legislative power to the national legislatures ofScotland,Wales andNorthern Ireland, whilereserved matters andexcepted matters are the areas where the UK Parliament retains exclusive power to legislate.
Devolution in the United Kingdom is regarded as the decentralisation of power from the UK Government, with powers devolved to theScottish Parliament andScottish Government, theNorthern Ireland Assembly andNorthern Ireland Executive and theWelsh Parliament andWelsh Government, in all areas except those which are reserved or excepted.[1] Amongst the fourcountries of the United Kingdom, Scotland has the most extensive devolved powers controlled by the Scottish Parliament, with the Scottish Government being described as the "most powerful devolved government in the world".[2][3]
In theory, reserved matters could be devolved at a later date, whereas excepted matters (defined only in relation to Northern Ireland) are not supposed to be considered for further devolution. In practice, the difference is minor as Westminster is responsible for all the powers on both lists and its consent is both necessary and sufficient to devolve them. Because Westminster acts withsovereign supremacy, it is still able to pass legislation for all parts of the United Kingdom, including in relation to devolved matters.[4]
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:
As a result of the historical and administrative differences between Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, matters which are devolved and which are reserved, varies between each country.[5]
InNorthern Ireland, the powers of theNorthern Ireland Assembly do not coverreserved matters orexcepted matters.
InScotland, 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 theScottish Parliament. The Scottish Parliament controls around 60% of spending in Scotland. Any form of revenue raised within theScottish economy will remain in Scotland, whilst the Scottish Government is permitted to retain the first ten percentage points of VAT collected in Scotland (50% of revenue). Additionally, the Scottish Government has control over Air Passenger Duty (the tax to be paid by air travellers leaving Scotland), Aggregates Levy (the power to tax companies involved in extracting aggregates within Scotland) and has additional borrowing powers which permits the Scottish Government to borrow up to 10% of its budget annually.[6] The Scottish Government can borrow up to £3.5 billion in additional funding to invest in public services, such as schools, transportation networks and healthcare, amongst other areas.[7]
InWales, 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 theSenedd. Before 2017, a list of matters was explicitly devolved to the then knownNational Assembly for Wales and any matter not listed in the Act was implicitly reserved to Westminster. In Wales, the Welsh Government became responsible for income tax only in 2019, meaning individuals with their permanent residence located in Wales and, as a result, pay Income Tax in Wales, will now pay Welsh rates of Income Tax which is set by the Welsh Government. Additionally, the Welsh Government has been granted powers over Land Transaction Tax and Landfill Disposals Tax.[8]
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The devolution schemes in Scotland and Wales are set up in a similar manner. TheParliament of the United Kingdom has granted legislative power to theScottish Parliament and theSenedd 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 asreserved matters.
Anything not listed as a specific reserved matter in the Scotland Act or the Wales Act isdevolved to that nation. The UK Parliament can still choose to legislate over devolved areas.[4]
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.[9][10][11][12] Additionally, the Scottish Parliament can overturn any piece of existing UK legislation and introduce legislation in areas not retained by Westminster, whilst the Welsh Assembly is only permitted to amend existing UK legislation passed by the UK Parliament in the areas devolved to Wales.
The Scottish Parliament has substantially more powers than both the Welsh Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly, with the Scottish Government being described as "one of the most powerful devolved governments in the world".[13] The Scottish Parliament has the power to vary the basic rate of income tax whilst the Welsh Parliament relies only on funding by the central UK government. Additionally, Scotland has been granted substantially more powers on international affairs and foreign engagement. Despite foreign affairs remaining a reserved matter to the UK parliament, the Scottish Government has been granted authority to be more directly involved in government decision making on European Union matters and relations. In Wales, this is not the case, with the Welsh Government having no additional power on international relations, with this right being retained by theSecretary of State for Wales in the UK Government.[14]
Scotland has the most extensive tax powers of any of the devolved governments, followed by Wales and Northern Ireland. The three devolved governments have full legislative power over council tax, business tax, whilst Scotland and Wales has additional tax powers in areas such as property tax, landfill tax, stamp tax and some aspects of income tax, whilst the Northern Ireland Executive does not. Furthermore, Scotland has legislative control over areas such as air passenger duty, value added tax (VAT) and aggregates levy. The Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive do not have control over those areas in their respective countries.[15]
Of the three countries within the United Kingdom with devolved parliaments, the Scottish Parliament has the most extensive devolved powers in which it is responsible for.[16]
The responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers broadly follow those of the Scottish Parliament provided for in theScotland Act 1998 and subsequent UK legislation. Where pre-devolution legislation of the UK Parliament provided that certain functions could be performed byUK Government ministers, these functions were transferred to the Scottish Ministers if they were within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
Functions which were devolved under the Scotland Act 1998 included:[17]
Subsequently, the Scotland Acts of2012 and2016 transferred powers over:[19][20]
The 1998 Act also provided for orders to be made allowing Scottish Ministers to exercise powers of UK Government ministers in areas that remain reserved to theParliament of the United Kingdom. Equally the Act allows for the Scottish Ministers to transfer functions to the UK Government ministers, or for particular "agency arrangements". This executive devolution means that the powers of the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament are not identical.[22]
The members of the Scottish government have substantial influence overlegislation in Scotland, putting forward the majority of bills that are successful in becoming Acts of the Scottish Parliament.[23]
Following the "yes" vote in thereferendum on further law-making powers for the assembly on 3 March 2011, the Welsh Government is now entitled to propose bills to the National Assembly for Wales on subjects within 20 fields of policy. Subject to limitations prescribed by the Government of Wales Act 2006,Acts of the National Assembly may make any provision that could be made by Act of Parliament. The 20 areas of responsibility devolved to the National Assembly for Wales (and within which Welsh ministers exercise executive functions) are:
TheGovernment of Wales Act 2006 updated the list of fields, as follows:[24]
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.[25]
Specific reservations cover policy areas which can only be regulated by Westminster, listed under 'heads':
| Head | Scotland[26] | Wales[27] |
|---|---|---|
| Head A: Financial and economic matters | ||
| Fiscal,economic andmonetary policy | Reserved | Reserved |
| The currency | Reserved | Reserved |
| Financial services andfinancial markets | Reserved | Reserved |
| Money laundering | Reserved | Reserved |
| Distribution of money from dormant bank accounts | Devolved | Reserved |
| Head B: Home affairs | ||
| Elections to the House of Commons | Reserved | Reserved |
| Emergency powers | Reserved | Reserved |
| Immigration and nationality | Reserved | Reserved |
| Extradition | Reserved | Reserved |
| National security andcounter-terrorism | Reserved | Reserved |
| Policing,criminal investigations andprivate security | Devolved | Reserved |
| Anti-social behaviour andpublic order | Devolved | Reserved |
| Illicit drugs | Reserved | Reserved |
| Firearms | Reserved | Reserved |
| Air gun licensing | Devolved | Reserved |
| Betting, gaming and lotteries | Reserved | Reserved |
| Knives | Devolved | Reserved |
| Alcohol | Devolved | Reserved |
| Hunting with dogs anddangerous dogs | Devolved | Reserved |
| Prostitution,modern slavery | Devolved | Reserved |
| Film classification | Reserved | Reserved |
| Scientific procedures on live animals | Reserved | Reserved |
| Access to information | Reserved | Reserved[note 1] |
| Data protection | Reserved | Reserved |
| Lieutenancies | Reserved | Reserved |
| Charities | Devolved | Reserved |
| Head C: Trade and industry | ||
| Regulation of businesses, insolvency,competition law | Mostly reserved[note 2] | Reserved |
| Copyright andintellectual property | Reserved | Reserved |
| Import and export control | Reserved | Reserved |
| Sea fishing outside the Scottish zone | Reserved | — |
| Customer protection, product standards and product safety | Reserved | Reserved |
| Consumer advocacy and advice | Devolved | Reserved |
| Weights and measures | Reserved | Reserved |
| Telecommunications andpostal services | Reserved | Reserved |
| Research councils | Reserved | Reserved |
| Industrial development and protection of trading interests | Reserved | Reserved |
| Water and sewerage outside Wales | — | Reserved |
| Pubs Code Regulations | Devolved | Reserved |
| Sunday trading | Devolved | Reserved |
| Head D: Energy | ||
| Electricity | Reserved | Reserved |
| Oil and gas,coal andnuclear energy | Reserved | Reserved |
| Heating and cooling | Devolved | Reserved |
| Energy efficiency | Reserved | Reserved |
| Head E: Transport | ||
| Traffic, vehicle and driver regulation | Reserved | Reserved |
| Train services | Partially devolved[note 3] | Reserved |
| Policing of railways and railway property | Devolved | Reserved |
| Navigation, shipping regulation andcoastguard | Reserved | Reserved |
| Ports, harbours and shipping services outside Scotland or Wales | Reserved | Reserved |
| Air transport | Reserved | Reserved |
| Head F: Social security | ||
| National Insurance,social security schemes | Mostly reserved[note 4] | Reserved |
| Child support | Reserved | Reserved |
| Occupational, personal and warpensions | Reserved | Reserved |
| Public sector compensation | Devolved | Reserved |
| Head G: Regulation of the professions | ||
| Regulation ofarchitects and auditors | Reserved | Reserved |
| Regulation of thehealth professions | Reserved | Reserved |
| Head H: Employment | ||
| Employment andindustrial relations | Reserved | Reserved |
| Health and safety | Reserved | Reserved[note 5] |
| Industrial training boards | Devolved | Reserved |
| Job search and support | Reserved | Reserved |
| Head J: Health and medicines | ||
| Abortion | Devolved | Reserved |
| Xenotransplantation | Reserved | Reserved |
| Embryology,surrogacy andhuman genetics | Reserved | Reserved |
| Medicines, medical supplies andpoisons | Reserved | Reserved[note 6] |
| Welfare foods | Devolved | Reserved |
| Head K: Media and culture | ||
| Broadcasting | Reserved | Reserved |
| Public lending right | Reserved | Reserved |
| Government Indemnity Scheme for cultural objects on loan | Reserved | Reserved |
| Safety of sports grounds | Devolved | Reserved |
| (Wales only) Part 1: The Constitution | ||
| TheCrown Estate | Devolved | Reserved |
| (Wales only) Head L: Justice | ||
| Thelegal profession,legal services andlegal aid | Devolved | Reserved |
| Coroners | Devolved[note 7] | Reserved |
| Arbitration | Devolved | Reserved |
| Mental capacity | Devolved | Reserved |
| Personal data | Devolved | Reserved |
| Public sector information and public records | Devolved | Reserved |
| Compensation for persons affected by crime | Devolved | Reserved |
| Prisons and offender management | Devolved | Reserved |
| Marriage, family relationships, matters concerning children | Devolved | Reserved |
| Gender recognition | Devolved[note 8][28] | Reserved |
| Registration of births, deaths and places of worship | Devolved | Reserved |
| (Wales only) Head M: Land and Agricultural Assets | ||
| Registration of land, agricultural charges and debentures | Devolved | Reserved |
| Certain powers relating to infrastructure planning, building regulation on Crown land, and land compensation | Devolved | Reserved |
| Head L (Scotland) / Head N (Wales): Miscellaneous | ||
| Judicial salaries[note 9] | Reserved | Reserved |
| Equal opportunities | Reserved | Reserved |
| Control ofnuclear, biological and chemical weapons | Reserved | Reserved |
| TheOrdnance Survey | Reserved | Reserved |
| Time and calendars | Reserved | Reserved |
| Bank holidays | Devolved | Reserved |
| Outer space | Reserved | Reserved |
| Antarctica | Reserved | Reserved |
| Deep sea mining | Devolved | Reserved |
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 ofScottish 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.
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TheHillsborough Castle Agreement[29] on 5 February 2010 resulted in the following reserved powers being transferred to theNorthern Ireland Assembly on 12 April 2010:[30]
Devolution in Northern Ireland was originally provided for in theGovernment of Ireland Act 1920, which stated that theParliament of Northern Ireland could not make laws in the following main areas:[31]
This was the first practical example of devolution in theUnited Kingdom and followed three unsuccessful attempts to providehome rule for the whole island ofIreland:
Excepted matters are outlined in Schedule 2 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998:[32]
Reserved matters are outlined in Schedule 3 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998:[33]
Following the suspension of theParliament of Northern Ireland, policing and justice powers transferred to theUK Parliament and were subsequently administered by theNorthern Ireland Office within theUK Government. These powers were not devolved following theBelfast Agreement.
Some policing and justice powers remainreservedto Westminster:[34]
A number of policing and justice powers remain excepted matters and were not devolved.These include:
Irish unionists initially opposed home rule, but later accepted it forNorthern Ireland, where they formed a majority. (The rest of the island became independent as what is now theRepublic of Ireland.)
TheParliament of Northern Ireland wassuspended on 30 March 1972 by theNorthern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972,[35] with Stormont's legislative powers being transferred to theQueen in Council.
The Parliament of Northern Ireland was abolished outright by theNorthern Ireland Constitution Act 1973;[36] legislative competence was conferred instead on theNorthern 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,[37] having only passed two Measures.[citation needed]
The Assembly was dissolved under theNorthern Ireland Act 1974,[38][39] which transferred its law-making power to theQueen in Council once again. The 1974 framework of powers continued in place until legislative powers were transferred to the presentNorthern Ireland Assembly on 2 December 1999,[40] under theNorthern Ireland Act 1998, following theBelfast Agreement of 10 April 1998.
Northern Ireland has parity withGreat Britain in three areas:
Policy in these areas is technically devolved but, in practice, follows policy set by the UK Parliament to provide consistency across the United Kingdom.[41]
Reserved matters are subdivided into two categories: General reservations and specific reservations.
General reservations cover major issues which are always handled centrally by the Parliament in Westminster:[26][27]
Additionally, in Wales, all matters concerning thesingle 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.
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| Organisations and laws of the legislatures and governments of the UK and the devolved areas |
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