Devolved Powers 2026-07-15
2026-07-15
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
The Scottish Parliament recently voted to devolve energy powers back to Scotland, indicating a new spirit of co-operation and trust.
Devolution appears to be all the rage at the moment. The Secretary of State will know fine well that the Scottish Parliament recently voted to devolve energy powers back to Scotland. Can I ask the Secretary of State when the UK Government will respect the vote of the Scottish Parliament and devolve energy powers back to Scotland?
The SNP seems to respect every vote, apart from the constitutional referendum in which 84% of the Scottish people exercised their democratic choice. The hon. Member says that devolution is all the rage but some of us were early adopters. I campaigned for and supported the Scotland Act 1998 arguing for a two-Parliament solution to governance. Energy policy is one of the areas held here at Westminster, albeit there are important planning considerations in Westminster.
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Assessment & feedback
The question about when energy powers will be devolved was not directly answered.
Referencing Past Actions
Mentioning Other Areas Of Policy
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
The Scottish Parliament recently voted to devolve energy powers back to Scotland.
Devolution is all the rage at the moment. The Secretary of State will know fine well that the Scottish Parliament recently voted to devolve energy powers back to Scotland. Can I ask the Secretary of State when the UK Government will respect the vote of the Scottish Parliament and devolve energy powers back to Scotland?
The SNP respects every vote apart from the constitutional referendum. The hon. Member says that devolution is all the rage but some of us were early adopters, campaigning for a two-Parliament solution under the Scotland Act 1998. Centralisation of powers in Holyrood needs to be reversed.
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Assessment & feedback
The question about when energy powers will be devolved was not directly answered.
Referencing Past Actions
Mentioning Other Areas Of Policy
Response accuracy
Q3
Direct Answer
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Context
For 23 years, the questioner served in Scotland's NHS.
Under the SNP Government, NHS nurses are paying higher income tax than colleagues elsewhere in the UK. Does the Secretary of State agree that instead of demanding more power, the SNP Government should use their existing powers to deliver better public services and value for taxpayers?
I could not agree more. My own mother worked in NHS Ayrshire, at Crosshouse hospital. The Scottish Government are letting dedicated NHS workers down after 19 years in power. They must account for their record on public services including NHS waiting lists and declining school standards.
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Assessment & feedback
Response accuracy
Q4
Partial Answer
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Context
The SNP Government has been in power for 20 years.
We have had 20 years of SNP mismanagement, with a pervasive devolve-and-forget mentality. Will the Secretary of State confirm that Labour will not be devolving any more powers to Edinburgh?
I hardly think that SNP mismanagement should damn devolution in everyone's eyes. It is possible to drive a Ferrari into a ditch, which is what we have seen over the last 19 years.
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Assessment & feedback
The question about Labour not devolving power was not directly answered.
Referencing Past Actions
Mentioning Other Areas Of Policy
Response accuracy
Q5
Partial Answer
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Context
The SNP Government has been involved with various issues including gender recognition reform.
We have demonstrated that we are unafraid to step in when decisions by the Scottish Government harm Scots and Scotland. Will the Secretary of State commit today to urging the new Prime Minister to think long and hard about how devolution under the SNP is failing Scotland, and examine how SNP Ministers jet around on taxpayer jollies, draw up plans to tear Britain apart, and focus on a narrow divisive agenda?
An awareness of those issues is not simply for the incoming Prime Minister but for anyone who reads a newspaper in Scotland. What we have witnessed is a travesty of the potential of devolution, with failures in policy areas including ferries, hospitals, and schools.
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Assessment & feedback
The question about urging the new PM was not directly answered.
Referencing Past Actions
Mentioning Other Areas Of Policy
Response accuracy