Commission on Scottish Devolution

An independent review of the experience of devolution in Scotland

Header Image Commission on Scottish Devolution: Questionnaire

Questionnaire

To take part in the questionnaire, please provide some basic information about yourself and then answer the questions that follow.

In most cases you can simply click on the option that best describes your view. With other questions, space is provided for you to expand upon your answer. In some instances, background information has been provided – you might find it helpful to read this first.

About you

Please note – your name will not be published. While we will in due course publish data about the collective responses to this questionnaire, no responses or comments will be attributable to named individuals.

The information below will help us to build a profile of those contributing to our work through this questionnaire.

Where you live:














Devolution so far

In 1999, new devolved institutions were created in Scotland – a Scottish Parliament of 129 MSPs able to make laws on a range of devolved matters, and a Scottish Executive (now called Scottish Government) with responsibility for setting policy and making decisions on those matters. These new institutions sit alongside the existing institutions of the UK Parliament and UK Government, which continue to have responsibility for law-making and decision-making in Scotland on a range of reserved matters.

Devolved Matters
The principal areas of responsibility devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government are:

  • education
  • health
  • justice and police
  • local government and housing
  • agriculture, fisheries and forestry
  • environment, tourism, sport and heritage
  • economic development and internal transport

Reserved Matters
The principal areas of responsibility reserved to the UK Parliament and the UK Government are:

  • national security and counter-terrorism
  • the economy
  • benefits and pensions
  • defence
  • foreign affairs
  • energy
  • broadcasting
  • immigration and nationality
  • consumer protection

Question 1: How successful do you think the Scottish Executive/Scottish Government has been in terms of delivering effective government in devolved areas?





Question 2: How successful do you think the Scottish Parliament has been, in terms of providing effective parliamentary scrutiny and oversight?





Question 3: Do you consider that devolution has produced results that better serve the people of Scotland than would have been likely or possible under pre-devolution arrangements?






Devolution legislation

Under current devolution legislation (which can only be amended by the UK Parliament), the Scottish Parliament has the following features:

  • it consists of 129 members (or MSPs) – 73 constituency MSPs elected by “first-past-the-post” and 56 regional MSPs elected by the “additional member” system
  • the Parliament is unicameral – that is, it has no revising chamber or “upper house”
  • the Parliament has the power to vary (i.e. increase or reduce) the basic rate of income tax by up to 3p in the pound

Question 4: Please select the boxes below that best describe your opinion on these features in the Scottish Parliament:

  Definitely change Reconsider
(maybe change)		 Leave as it is
(don’t change)		 Don’t know /
no opinion
Number of MSPs and
electoral system
Unicameral Parliament
Tax-varying power

If you have indicated a preference for change please describe any specific issues or proposals:

Question 5: Do you believe the people of Scotland would be better served if some of the matters currently reserved to the UK Parliament were now devolved to the Scottish Parliament?






Question 6: Are there changes you would like to see to the current distribution of responsibilities – either devolved matters that you would now like to see reserved, or reserved matters that you would now like to see devolved?

Please indicate the relevant changes – describing the responsibility that you would like to see reserved/devolved, and briefly explaining why:

Financial accountability

Under the current financial arrangements for devolution, the Scottish Parliament receives a block grant (based on the Barnett formula) to spend on devolved services as it chooses, but (apart from the power to vary the basic rate of income tax by up to 3p in the pound, and devolved control over local taxation) has no responsibility for raising revenue from Scottish taxpayers to pay for those devolved services.

Question 7: Do you believe that the Scottish Parliament should have greater financial accountability and be responsible for raising a greater proportion of its income by having increased taxation powers?




Intergovernmental relations

Question 8: How effectively do you think the UK Government and the Scottish Government have worked together since 1999 in order to secure a good deal for Scotland, particularly within the European Union?





General

Question 9: Do you have any further comments to make about how devolution can be strengthened so that it better serves the interests of the people of Scotland within a wider UK context?

If your comment is by way of an expansion or explanation of an answer given to an earlier question, please indicate the question number in brackets – e.g. “(Q3)”.

Please take a moment to check over your responses before clicking submit.

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