What general election issues are devolved in Scotland?

The general election has seen political parties clash over a number of issues, from taxes to health and immigration to education.

However, in Scotland some of these areas are devolved to the Scottish parliament – meaning the reality is their party would need to be in charge of the Scottish government to make it happen.

So, how do the issues coming up in this election apply to Scotland?

It has been said that devolution is a process rather than an event, but here is a quick timeline of some of the key events from the last 50 years.

• 1979 – a referendum is held on whether to create a Scottish Assembly. The result was 52% in favour to 48% against – but because the turnout was only 32% of eligible voters, the assembly was not created (as 40% of the total electorate was required to vote in favour in order for it to proceed).
• 1997 – Tony Blair’s Labour government holds a referendum in which the electorate are asked if a Scottish Parliament should be created. This time, the result is 74% in favour to 26% against.
• 1998 – The Scotland Act is passed by Westminster, formally creating the Scottish Parliament and setting out how it will work and what powers it will have.
• 1999 – The Scottish Parliament opens, with Donald Dewar serving as Scotland’s First Minister, and a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition as the first administration.
• 2012 – Powers granted to Holyrood increase, including giving the Scottish Parliament power over some taxes. This includes the ability to set income tax rates in Scotland and enable Holyrood to borrow more money.
• 2014 – Voters are asked if Scotland should be an independent country in a referendum, with 55% voting against independence and 45% voting in favour.
• 2016 – Powers granted to Holyrood are increased again, through the Scotland Act. New areas include equal opportunities, abortion law and gaming machines, with additional powers on tax, welfare, and licensing of onshore oil and gas extraction transferred at later dates.

Powers have also been devolved from Westminster to Wales and Northern Ireland.

Some regions of England have had some powers devolved, too.

You can read more about devolution across the UK here.

Devolution is the transfer of powers from, in this case, the UK government to the Scottish government.

This means decisions are made closer to the people they affect – in this context, the decisions are being made in Edinburgh instead of London.

The Scotland Act devolved power from Westminster to Holyrood.

This gave MSPs control over many policy areas, some of which are set out below.

However, there are some policy areas – known in the Scotland Act as “reserved matters” which remain under the control of Westminster alone. You can read more about what’s reserved further down this article.

Examples of the policy areas currently devolved to the Scottish Parliament are:

• Agriculture, forestry and fishing
• Education
• Environment
• Healthcare and the NHS
• Housing
• Justice, policing and courts
• Local government
• Some transport
• Taxes including income tax, stamp duty and air passenger duty
• Some welfare powers

A number of the issues raised in the general election campaign so far cover policy areas which are devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

That means it doesn’t matter what politicians elected to Westminster promise, policy changes will only come if they are implemented by the Scottish government.

In practice, this means when the UK Labour and Liberal Democrat parties promise to boost the number of doctors and nurses, they can only promise changes in relation to England and Wales, as would Labour’s promises of action to cut waiting times to see a doctor.

Policing is devolved too, so the Liberal Democrats’ proposal to increase community policing would not apply north of the border.

Similarly, the Tories’ plan to make studying English and maths mandatory until the age of 18 would be irrelevant to Scotland.

Currently, the SNP are in power at Holyrood.

They have formed the Scottish government at Holyrood since 2007, and continue to argue for independence.

There are several areas where the Scottish government has some powers, but not full autonomy.

The Scotland Act 2016 provided additional welfare powers to the Scottish Parliament, including aspects of Universal Credit, but the transition has been hit by delays.

As a result, the UK Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) agreed to keep delivering disability living allowance to some people in Scotland until March 2026.

However, a number of new social security benefits have been brought in, including the Scottish Child Payment.

The 2016 act also gave additional powers over some aspects of transport, including control over speed limits and rail operators.

Under the Scotland Act, everything is devolved to the Scottish government unless it’s specifically reserved to the UK government.

Westminster still controls a number of significant areas, mainly regarding national affairs considered to impact the entire UK.

Policy areas affecting Scotland and controlled by the UK government are:

• Constitutional affairs – decisions on devolution for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Defence – the Army, Navy and Air Force
• Foreign affairs – relations with other countries and international bodies
• Economic policy – some taxes including business tax
• Social security – control of reserved benefits: universal credit, tax credits
• Immigration
• Drug control and classification

Since defence is a reserved matter, that means that if the Conservatives returned to power then Rishi Sunak’s pledge to bring back national service would affect Scottish teenagers.

This area also covers the Faslane naval base, home of the UK’s nuclear deterrent and a facility which both the Tories and Labour have pledged to continue funding.

Foreign affairs is another area under Westminster control, but this has become an increasingly thorny topic in recent years.

In 2023, the UK government accused Scottish government representatives of overstepping boundaries by discussing independence with consuls of foreign countries.

Also last year, a row broke out when Scotland’s first minister met with the Turkish president without a UK official present.

Scotland has two governments – the UK government at Westminster, and the Scottish government at Holyrood.

Each has different powers when it comes to taxing and spending in Scotland.

Most of the UK government’s money comes from taxes – for example income tax, corporation tax, National Insurance and VAT.

The Scottish Parliament has some tax powers, including the ability to set income tax rates and bands (except for the starting threshold, currently at £12,570).

Scotland now has six income tax bands while the rest of the UK has only three.

The way the tax bands and rates are applied means those who pay income tax in Scotland who earn more than £28,867 pay more income tax than someone with the same earnings elsewhere in the UK, while those on the lower rungs of income tax pay around £20 less each year.

The Scottish government also raises money from business rates and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (on property sales).

But most of the Scottish government’s money comes in the form of a UK Treasury block grant, drawing on tax revenue from across the UK.

The amount of money which is sent north to Edinburgh is calculated using what is known as the Barnett formula.

When the UK government decides to spend more or less in England on things such as health and education which are devolved to Scotland as well as Wales and Northern Ireland, the Barnett formula allocates a fixed proportion to the other three nations.

It is then up to the Scottish government to decide what to spend the money on.

There are frequent disputes over the amount of money available to the Scottish government, resulting from decisions made at Westminster for England.

The UK government says spending in Scotland is considerably higher per person than it is in England.

Scottish ministers have chosen to use their income tax powers to supplement the revenue they have, this year meaning they have £1.5bn more than they would receive under the same tax rates and bandings as the rest of the UK.

There are around 13 major sources of tax revenue controlled by Westminster with collection from across the UK.

These range from fuel duty to gambling and alcohol taxes, and a complex system for taxing company profits while giving tax incentives to invest.

Where ministers at Westminster think firms are making windfall profits, they can increase tax, as they currently do on oil and gas producers.