During the General Election campaign, Keir Starmer promised a "reset" of devolution. Now the King’s Speech has stated that the UK Government will “strengthen its work with the devolved governments..
. so that the best outcomes possible are delivered for citizens across the United Kingdom.” For many of us working in policy areas that span devolved and reserved, this is music to our ears.
We really hope that a new sensible era of intergovernmental relations is being ushered in. The boundaries of the Scottish Parliament's and Government's responsibilities have been in constant flux, causing frustration, with hints of opportunity but doors also slammed shut. There can be no greater example of this than the UNCRC, the children’s rights bill.
Children and young people from across Scotland campaigned tirelessly for this bill, putting their full effort behind it. It was finally, and unanimously, passed by the Scottish Parliament, and it is already having great impact for good. However, it is considerably reduced in scope - not due to anything about children’s rights per se -but due to a Supreme Court ruling about the limits of devolution, after a challenge by the then UK Government.
This is a devolution problem that has very directly limited the outcomes for children in Scotland . What’s more, this devolution narrowing will also reduce the scope of the upcoming wider Scottish Human Rights Bill. The Scottish Government will soon introduce this bill to bring more of our inte.