Devolution must be led and decided by people of Scotland, not just by politicians

31 October 2014

Piecemeal top-down approach to devolution won't work

Following a wide spread consultation with the third sector across Scotland, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) has used its submission to the Smith Commission on more powers for Scotland to call for the full devolution of welfare, employability, energy and asylum support. Key asks from the third sector include:

• Full devolution of welfare
• All powers over employability, and accompanying benefits
• Devolution of the operation of asylum support
• Full power over Scottish elections to allow the franchise to be extended to 16 and 17 years olds
• Devolution of energy to help align energy policy with other devolved areas such as housing, energy efficiency and community empowerment
• Devolution of VAT relief schemes for charities
• The devolution of a portfolio of taxes
• Full devolution of equality law

John Downie, Director of Public Affairs, SCVO said: “The debate about devolution has focused on specific powers and responsibilities, but failed to pick up on how inter-related the issues facing Scotland are. The piecemeal devolution of powers would not deliver the fundamental change and greater social justice that so many people in Scotland want. “We need to see a substantial coherent package of powers that will stand the test of time. Any agreement on devolution shouldn’t be set in stone or be led by short-term party politics. It should be a process that’s reviewed every five years. “The sector also wants to see a commitment to more powers being devolved to communities, so that they have a say in the decisions that affect their lives. This would mean that, despite the Smith Commission’s impossibly tight timetable, we can still pursue a bottom-up devolution process led by people in Scotland, not just by politicians.” ENDS

1. The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) is the national body representing the interests of charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises.  The Scottish third sector turns over £4.9 billion a year and employs 138,000 people in over 45,000 organisations. For more on SCVO see www.scvo.scot
2. John Downie is available for interview and further comment, please call Charlotte McNeill, Press Officer, SCVO on 0779 060 1995
3. Read the response in full here: http://www.scvo.scot/long-form-posts/scvo-response-smith-commission/