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Home » News » Tackling inequalities » Smith Commission

Smith Commission

30 November 2014

September 2014
Following the referendum, Lord Smith of Kelvin was appointed by the UK Government to chair a group on further powers for the Scottish Parliament.

Each of the political parties in the Scottish Parliament were represented on the Commission which was set a target of St Andrew’s Day to produce its proposals.

The Scottish Government played a positive role in the discussions, seeking to secure more powers to enable Scotland to become a more prosperous country, build a fairer society and strengthen Scotland’s place in the world.

October 2014
The Scottish Government published our proposals on more powers for the Scottish Parliament on October 10, 2014. The First Minister (then Deputy First Minister) said:

“Our key focus will be on delivering ‘powers for a purpose’ – that means putting forward proposals that will deliver real change for the people of Scotland and better equip the Scottish Parliament to create jobs, protect public services and tackle inequality.”

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November 2014

On 27 November 2014, the Smith Commission published its Heads of Agreement on further devolution of powers to the Scottish Parliament.

FM @NicolaSturgeon & @stvharry on Downing St after PM meet. FM confident 16 & 17 yr olds will vote in 2016 election. pic.twitter.com/YR2QoNIwB5

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) December 15, 2014

The First Minister welcomed the inclusion of votes for 16 and 17 year-olds, and the limited expansion of power over welfare and taxation but also said the proposals fell far short of those made by the Scottish Government and by a wide range of civic organisations and people across Scotland.

She said:

“The Scottish Government will work jointly with the UK Government on the next stage of this progress, in line with the full and constructive part we have played so far.

“We want to ensure that the spirit and intention of the Smith recommendations are reflected in the legislative proposals to be published by the end of January, and that the process includes the people of Scotland following the unprecedented levels of engagement during the referendum, and the public consultation continued by Lord Smith.”

December 2014

On 15 December the First Minister held her first talks with the David Cameron. They agreed to pursue early action to allow the Scottish Parliament to give votes to 16 and 17 year olds.

The First Minister said:

“Following the meeting, I am confident that we now have the basis of a deal on the necessary devolution of powers to extend the franchise to 16 and 17 year-olds in time for the 2016 election, giving us the opportunity to build on the huge success of the engagement we saw in the referendum.

“But we need to move quickly if this is going to happen”

Read the statement on votes for 16 – 17 year olds here.

January 2015

On 22 January 2015, the UK Government published a command paper containing draft clauses of a proposed bill to devolve more powers to Scotland.

The First Minister outlined her concerns about the proposed legislation, pointing out that it handed a veto to Westminster in key areas, including the power to end the bedroom tax.

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In addition, draft clauses for the full devolution of unemployment support currently fall short of what was promised, and do not fully reflect the Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling inequality, as Scotland would be tied to the UK’s current austerity fiscal framework.

The First Minister met the Prime Minister in Edinburgh on January 22, 2015 to discuss the proposals.

First Minister .@NicolaSturgeon meets Prime Minister .@David_Cameron in Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh pic.twitter.com/R7of3cTaKu

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) January 22, 2015

During the discussions she made it clear that the Scottish Government would continue to work with the UK Government and others to ensure the required Smith Commission changes are made ahead of the Bill being taken forward, with the aim of developing a Bill with widespread support that can be introduced shortly after the UK General Election in May 2015.

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The Scottish Government has lodged a Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) with the Scottish Parliament, recommending that consent cannot be given to the UK Government’s “inadequate and damaging” Brexit deal with the EU. More information: gov.scot/news/brexit-de… pic.twitter.com/aF6hfFmDqX

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon has addressed the Zero Carbon Forum and committed to working with our European partners to fight climate change. We are delighted that Mayor @AnneHidalgo signed the Edinburgh Declaration on biodiversity this week, on behalf of the city of Paris. pic.twitter.com/V87NNkLQ2V

We have a winner! Sophie Blackett, Age 10 from Calderwood, East Kilbride has designed the First Minister's 2020 Christmas card.🎄📨 Well done Sophie and thank you to everyone who took part, we had almost 700 fantastic entries.🌟 Sophie's design along with the message inside⬇️ twitter.com/ScotGovFM/stat… pic.twitter.com/EjBNmEaPk4

“We want Scotland to be regarded internationally as a leader on human rights issues.” – First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during a message to mark #HumanRightsDay Watch the full message⬇️ pic.twitter.com/6NXzsQISfR

First Minister @NicolaSturgeon has met staff co-ordinating the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. The hospital is one of 23 centres where priority groups will be vaccinated against coronavirus. Read more ➡️ bit.ly/36OawE6 pic.twitter.com/pH0jRSvGgD

The First Minister @NicolaSturgeon delivered a speech at the @USChamber Space Summit, and underlined that Scotland is keen to work with partners around the world on a what is a priority area for inward investment. twitter.com/USChamber/stat…

Entries can be scanned and emailed to firstminister@gov.scot with the subject heading 'Christmas Card Competition' 🖥️ Or posted to St Andrew’s House, Regent Road, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG marked 'Christmas Card Competition' ✉️ Good luck! 🤞

Then make sure they enter before midnight on Monday November 30. ⏰ Pictures should be no larger than A3 and drawn in pen/pencil/crayon/paint only. No stickers or glued on pieces please. ✏️🖍️🖌️🎨

The First Minister is looking for a picture that represents kindness to use for her Christmas card this year.🎄📨 Do you know a young person under the age of 16 who can present the perfect festive picture to wrap up 2020? 🎁🎀

The original artwork for the First Minister's 2019 Christmas card will go to auction on Friday 27 November, Lot 870: bit.ly/361HnoO twitter.com/ScotGovFM/stat…

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