The Scottish Independence Bill: A consultation on an interim constitution for Scotland

Summary

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation, and would like to offer the following for consideration. Although there now won’t be a constitution in the near future, there are some key points that we believe should be considered should any significant change occur in the way Scotland is run. In particular:

• Any significant change to the way Scotland is run must be led by citizens, not politicians.
• Any constitution should focus on broad principles, not specific policies. For example, it should:
  • Ensure civic, human, social and environmental rights.
  • Protect the space for civil society in a modern democracy to criticise government and hold it to account.
  • Ensure the governance of our institutions is open and transparent.
  • Ensure our parliamentary and political systems are open, engaging and accessible to all.

SCVO has already worked with the third sector on forming principles for our economy, democracy and societyⁱ – principles such as these could also help to form the basis of our constitution.

Introduction

Whilst there is currently no prospect of a constitution being created in the near future, it is clear that further change is coming to Scotland in terms of more powers. As SCVO has said in its interim submission to Lord Smith’s Commission, the full involvement of citizens and communities in discussions about how Scotland is run is essentialⁱⁱ. This ensures that all voices are heard, not just those of politicians. We suggest that any constitution or discussion around how Scotland is run in the future should be citizen-led. Furthermore, with the challenges on third sector and civil society space through the UK’s Lobbying Act, and the challenge on Human Rights from some of the current UK Coalition Government, it is clear that a written constitution could help to serve a useful purpose in protecting a range of rights – economic, social, environmental and political. It could also provide a minimum floor for those rights that currently, many in the third sector see being eroded every day – rights to things like food and shelter. Therefore, there is a clear reason to create a written constitution, and we welcome the discussion that the Scottish Government is having in this arena.

Any significant change to the way Scotland is run must be led by citizens, not politicians

The referendum on independence saw unprecedented levels of turnout and engagement in politics in Scotland – the highest recorded for any national vote since universal suffrage in 1918. This demonstrates that there is massive appetite for political engagement in Scotland – and certainly this has been borne out by the increased membership across a range of our political parties. It is essential that this momentum is not lost, and that people continue to have a say in the big decisions about how their country is run. A citizen-led approach to a constitution, or constitutional debate, is an important way to ensure that ordinary people are given a real say in how their country is run, and on what foundations it is built. There are plenty of examples here from around the world of how to run a deliberative citizen-led convention that explores political issues. Ireland is a recent example that has had some success, crucially through buy-in from politicians as well as the excellent work of many citizensⁱⁱⁱ. The Electoral Reform Society Scotland will soon be producing a report on the success or otherwise of citizen-led constitutional deliberations from around the world. They show that there is plenty that Scotland can learn from to ensure that any process it undertakes will be as successful as possible.

Any constitution should focus on broad principles, not specific policies

It is clear that any constitution must be long-lasting. Therefore, it is essential that it focuses on broad rights and principles, rather than on specific policies. Clearly, the Scottish Parliament must be able to enact a range of policies without breaching the constitution. Within these then, some proposed principles referring to rights, respect and dignity within which Government and Parliament operate should form part of a constitution. These should include:

• Ensuring civic, human, social and environmental rights for all. The Civil and Political, and the Economic, Social and Cultural rights as set down in the International Covenants should form part of our constitution to ensure that they are fully adopted within Scotland. Such a move would protect such rights from being removed by Government, and would mean that some of our most vulnerable would be protected under law.
• Protect the space for civil society in a modern democracy to criticise government and hold it to account. This is an essential part of any open democracy. Again, enshrining this in a constitution would help prevent such a right from being removed by government.
• Ensure the governance of our institutions are open and transparent. Institutions have an important part to play in society. Ensuring that they are open and transparent allows citizens to engage in them fully.
• Ensure our parliamentary and political systems are open, engaging and accessible to all. As we responded to the Scottish Parliament’s Standards Committee enquiry into Procedures for considering legislation earlier this year^iv, remoteness of the parliament from ordinary citizens, and the speed and complexity with which bills pass through Parliament, can hinder the ability of individuals to access and understand issues that are been discussed by MSPs. It is essential that these issues are addressed.

SCVO has already worked with the third sector on forming principles for our economy, democracy and society^v, focussing on ideas such as dignity and fairness as well as more formal rights. Principles such as these could also help to form the basis of our constitution.

Conclusion

Change is coming to Scotland in terms of more powers, and the full involvement of citizens and communities in discussions of this and of any future constitution are essential. We recognise that there are some examples from around the world that Scotland can use as a basis for engaging citizens in the process of forming a constitution or indeed of discussing the framework within which Scotland will operate with further powers. Whilst this might not be the easiest route to follow, it is certainly the one that should be followed to ensure that the full range of individuals are heard in this process. Enshrining rights is essential. There have been various challenges to both the Civil and Political, and the Economic, Social and Cultural rights as set down in the International Covenants in recent years, and indeed the erosion of support for the most vulnerable in our society has had a significant impact on many of the most basic rights of individuals, such as access to food and housing. A constitution that enshrines these basic rights as written in the International Covenants could be one way to help ensure they are not breached in Scotland.

References

[i] See http://www.scvo.scot/long-form-posts/scvos-vision-of-a-scotland-for-all/ [ii] See http://www.scvo.scot/long-form-posts/smith-commission-scvo-interim-response/ [iii] See https://www.constitution.ie/ [iv] See http://www.scvo.scot/long-form-posts/scvo-response-standards-committee-inquiry-procedures-for-considering-legislation/ [v] See http://www.scvo.scot/long-form-posts/scvos-vision-of-a-scotland-for-all/