Devolution: Powers
The 1998, 2012 and 2016 Scotland Acts all saw its powers over public services, taxation and welfare benefits expanded.
The 1998 Scotland Act ruled that anything that was not explicitly written as reserved powers (ones still managed by the UK government), would automatically be a devolved responsibility (Scottish Parliament).
Devolved Matters | Reserved Matters |
Health & Social Care | Defence |
Education & Training | International Relations |
Local Government | Currency |
Police | Immigration |
Environment | Most Business Regulation |
Transport | Most Social Security Payments |
Justice | |
Tourism & Economic Development | |
Economic Development | |
Sports and the Arts | |
Equal Opportunities | |
Housing |
Devolution: Revenues and Expenditure
The annual Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) report allows us to understand this mix of spending in Scotland. The Fraser of Allander Institute has a helpful guide on understanding the report.
A Guide to GERS (2020) | FAI
The aim of the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) report is to enhance public understanding of fiscal issues in Scotland. It is published every year by the Scottish Government with the upcoming report scheduled for publication on 26 August.
fraserofallander.org
Knowledge Checkpoint: Describe the economic powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament
Knowledge Checkpoint: Can you name some examples of policies demonstrating devolution in action?
What is GERS?
- It provides a summary of how much revenue is raised in Scotland, how much the country pays for the public services consumed, and to what extent the revenues raised cover the costs of these public services (FAI).
- GERS captures entire public sector spending in Scotland (FAI). It does this by measuring total spending for the benefit of the people of Scotland by the Scottish Government, Local Government and the UK government.
What does UK spending decisions mean for Scotland?
- The block grant from the UK government – the key factor determining the size of the Scottish budget – is projected to barely increase at all in real terms between 2022/23 and 2025/26, and then increase slightly in the final year of the forecast.
A first glance - Scottish budget 2023-2024 | FAI
Early today, the Deputy First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s draft budget. This is (hopefully!) the last of many fiscal statements this year affecting Scotland. As well as the draft…
fraserofallander.org
First Spending Review in a decade provides welcome insight on Government priorities, and highlights scale of challenge facing public services | FAI
Today's Spending Review is the first multi-year spending settlement published by the Scottish Government since 2011. It covers the government's spending plans for the remainder of this term of parliament - from 2023/24 to 2026/27.
fraserofallander.org
