Sir Kenneth Calman, chairman of the Commission on Scottish Devolution, has issued a request for initial contributions from interested parties to help steer the Commission's early work – including suggestions for potential changes to the Parliament's devolved responsibilities.

The Commission held its first meeting at the Scottish Parliament on 28 April, at which four task groups were established – on functions, principles, engagement and financial accountability. Further task groups are likely to be established in the near future. A number of distinguished academics have already agreed to provide expert advice to the task groups, and it is likely that more will become involved. Sir Kenneth said:

"Central to the Commission's task will be engagement with as wide a range of interests as possible from both within and without Scotland. We are committed to making recommendations that are based on evidence and that can be expected to command widespread support.

"At this early stage, the Commission has not yet clarified the particular issues or options on which it will wish to seek detailed evidence. However, we want to highlight the general approach to engagement that the Commission is taking and give advance warning that we will be looking to a wide range of external sources to provide the information and evidence we need to take our work forward. "We would welcome any suggestions that people might have about specific aspects of the current devolved arrangements that might merit our attention – particularly, suggestions for change to the current division (made by Schedule 5 to the 1998 Act) between reserved and devolved matters. "I should emphasise that all we are seeking at this stage is a brief indication of the areas on which the Commission should focus its attention. There will be further opportunities in due course for interested parties to set out more fully their views on the issues raised." Initial submissions should be made to the Commission Secretariat at 1 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7HW by Friday 13 June. Interested parties can keep in touch with the work of the Commission by using the 'subscribe' facility on the new Commission website:

www.commissiononscottishdevolution.org.uk