Scotland

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Scotland Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Scotland. ... Scotland is one of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ...

Scots law Scots law (or Scottish law) is the law of Scotland. ...

Scottish Parliament Acts Presiding Officer Scottish Parliament Building Members (MSPs) Constituencies and electoral regions Last general election, 2003 Next general election, 2007

Scottish Executive First Minister Cabinet Crown Office Lord Advocate Solicitor General Scottish Executive agencies Non-departmental public bodies

UK Parliament: Reserved matters Scotland Office Secretary of State for Scotland Advocate General Constituencies Last general election, 2005 Next general election, 2009/10

European Parliament European Parliament constituency Last Election, 2004 Next election, 2009

Local government Subdivisions of Scotland Convention of Scottish Local Authorities

Elections Political parties

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A Legislative Consent Motion (formerly known as a Sewel motion) is a parliamentary motion passed by the Scottish Parliament, in which it agrees that the Parliament of the United Kingdom may pass legislation on a devolved issue extending to Scotland, over which the Scottish Parliament has regular legislative authority. For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... The Presiding Officer (Oifigear-Riaghlaidh in Scots Gaelic) is the Speaker, the person elected by the Members of the Scottish Parliament to chair their meetings. ... The Scottish Parliament building in April 2006 The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Edinburgh. ... Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) (Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba (BPA) in Gaelic) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. ... The Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post system of election, and eight additional member regions, each electing seven additional member MSPs. ... The polling date for the second Scottish Parliament election was held on May 1, 2003. ... The Scottish Parliament election, 2007, will be the third since the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) was created in 1999. ... The Executives logo, shown with English and Scottish Gaelic caption The term Scottish Executive is used in two different, but closely-related senses: to denote the executive arm of Scotlands national legislature (i. ... The First Minister (First Meinister in Scots; Prìomh Mhinistear in Scots Gaelic) is the leader of Scotlands national devolved government, the Scottish Executive, which was established in 1999 along with the reconvened Scottish Parliament. ... Dewar Government Donald Dewar, Scotlands first First Minister, obtained the Scottish Parliaments approval to the first slate of members of the Scottish Executive and Junior Scottish Ministers on 19 May 1999. ... The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is a government department in Scotland that is responsible for the public prosecution of alleged criminals. ... Her Majestys Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (Morair Tagraidh in Scots Gaelic), was the chief legal adviser of the United Kingdom Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters until the passing of the Scotland Act 1998. ... Her Majestys Solicitor General for Scotland (Àrd-neach-lagha a Chrùin an Alba) is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Crown and the Scottish Executive on Scots Law. ... Below is a list of executive agencies of the Scottish Executive. ... // Executive Bodies The Scottish Executive is responsible for the following Executive NDPBs: Accounts Commission for Scotland Bòrd Gàidhlig na h-Alba Cairngorms National Park Authority Crofters Commission Deer Commission for Scotland Highlands & Islands Enterprise Learning & Teaching Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Library of Scotland National Museums of... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... In the United Kingdom reserved matters, also referred to as reserved powers, are those subjects over which power to legislate is retained by Westminster, as stated by the Scotland Act 1998, Northern Ireland Act 1998 or Government of Wales Act 1998. ... The Scotland Office (Oifis na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a department of the United Kingdom government, responsible for reserved Scottish affairs. ... The Secretary of State for Scotland (Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the chief minister in the government of the United Kingdom with responsibilites for Scotland, at the head of the Scotland Office (formerly The Scottish Office). ... Her Majestys Advocate General for Scotland (Àrd-neach-tagraidh na Bànrighe airson Alba in Gaelic) is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty is to advise the Crown and UK Government on Scots law. ... Scotland is divided into 59 constituencies of the United Kingdom Parliament - 19 Burgh constituencies and 40 County constituencies. ... The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 and won by the Labour Party, led by Tony Blair. ... Under the provisions of the Parliament Act 1911, the next United Kingdom general election must be held on or before 3 June, 2010. ... Sign in the entrance of the European Parliament building in Brussels, written in all the official languages used in the European Union as of July 2006 The European Parliament building in Strasbourg The inside of the Strasbourg building The European Parliament building in Brussels The European Parliament (formerly European Parliamentary... Scotland constitutes a single constituency of the European Parliament. ... The European Parliament election, 2004 was the UK part of the European Parliament election, 2004. ... Elections to the European Parliament will be held in June 2006 in the then–27 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom. ... The local government of Scotland is organised into 32 unitary authorities covering the mainland and islands of Scotland. ... For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as Council Areas which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as Councils. They have been in use since April 1, 1996, under the provisions of the Local Government etc. ... The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is the representative association of Scottish local government and is the employers’ association on behalf of all Scottish councils. ... Scotland has elections to several bodies: the Scottish Parliament, the United Kingdom Parliament, the European Parliament, local councils and community councils. ... Parties represented in the Scottish Parliament (in order of number of representatives): Labour Party - Centre-left, unionist - 50 MSPs Scottish National Party (SNP) - Centre-left, pro-independence- 27 MSPs Conservative and Unionist Party - Centre-right, unionist - 18 MSPs Liberal Democrats - Centre, federalist - 17 MSPs Scottish Green Party - Environmentalist, pro-independence... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... A motion is a formal step to introduce a matter for consideration by a group. ... For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... Bold textJAMES CHECKLEY Legislation (or statutory law) is law which has been promulgated (or enacted) by a legislature or other governing body. ... For the heavy metal band, see Devolved (band) Devolution or home rule is the granting of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1. ...

Background

The Scotland Act 1998 devolved many issues relating to legislation for Scotland to the Scottish Parliament. The UK Parliament maintains Parliamentary sovereignty and may legislate on any issue relating to the United Kingdom, with or without the permission of the devolved assemblies and parliaments. However, this could present a potential conflict between the different legislatures. The Scotland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster. ... The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... Parliamentary sovereignty, parliamentary supremacy, or legislative supremacy is a concept in constitutional law that applies to some parliamentary democracies. ...

The motions were named after Lord Sewel, then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland who announced the policy in the House of Lords during the passage of the Scotland Act 1998. Noting that the Act recognised the Parliamentary sovereignty of the UK Parliament, he said that the UK Government: John Buttifant Sewel, Baron Sewel OBE (born 15 January 1946) is a Labour Party member of the House of Lords. ... The (Parliamentary) Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior Ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State rank) in the United Kingdom government, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. ... This article is about the British House of Lords. ...

"would expect a convention to be established that Westminster would not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament."

The Scottish Parliament has no say in how the UK Parliament legislates on reserved matters (those matters that were not devolved by the Scotland Act 1998). In Scotland reserved matters, also referred to as reserved powers, are those subjects over which power to legislate is retained by Westminster, as explicitly stated in the Scotland Act 1998. ...

Use and application

There are two uses for a Legislative Consent/Sewel motion:

1. It is used when the UK Parliament is considering legislation extending only (or having provisions extending only) to England and Wales, and the Scottish Parliament, being in agreement with those provisions, wishes for the UK Parliament to extend them to Scotland. This saves the need for separate, similar legislation to be passed by the Scottish Parliament.
2. It is also used when Westminster is considering legislation applying to Scotland but which relates to both devolved and reserved matters, where it would otherwise be necessary for the Scottish Parliament to legislate to complete the jigsaw.

As well as legislation about devolved matters, the convention extends to cases where UK Bills give functions to Scottish Executive, including in reserved areas, or which seek to change the boundary between reserved and devolved matters.

The intention was for the motions to be used for non-controversial matters, for the purposes of legislative economy and for clarity. It has been used for more controversial matters, where the Scottish Executive does not wish to have the Scottish Parliament to consider the issue in detail, to avoid the political consequences, and to keep the legislative bickering to Westminster only. The Executives logo, shown with English and Scottish Gaelic caption The term Scottish Executive is used in two different, but closely-related senses: to denote the executive arm of Scotlands national legislature (i. ...

Current situation and review

In 2005 the Procedures Committee undertook an inquiry into the use of Sewel motions, and heard evidence from Lord Sewel, Henry McLeish (the former First Minister of Scotland), and Anne McGuire MP (the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland). Following the review, the motions were retitled Legislative Consent Motions and the procedures enshrined in the Parliament's Standing Orders. The Right Honourable Henry McLeish (born June 15, 1948) is a Scottish politician. ... The First Minister (First Meinister in Scots; Prìomh Mhinistear in Scots Gaelic) is the leader of Scotlands national devolved government, the Scottish Executive, which was established in 1999 along with the reconvened Scottish Parliament. ... Anne Catherine McGuire (born 26 May 1949, Glasgow as Anne Catherine Long) is a politician in Scotland. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ... The (Parliamentary) Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior Ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State rank) in the United Kingdom government, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. ...

As of 15 October 2006, 73 Legislative Consent/Sewel motions had been passed by the Scottish Parliament. 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External link

• Scottish Executive information on Sewel convention