Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Devolved Powers 2026-07-15

Wednesday 15 July 2026 · 5 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Scottish Parliament recently voted to devolve energy powers back to Scotland
  • SNP respects every vote except the constitutional referendum result
  • Secretary of State criticizes SNP's 19-year record on public services including NHS waiting lists and school standards

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Lara Bird SNP
Scotland Energy
Context

The Scottish Parliament recently voted to devolve energy powers back to Scotland, indicating a new spirit of co-operation and trust.

Question

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?

Answer from Douglas Alexander

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question about when energy powers will be devolved was not directly answered.

How: Referencing Past Actions, Mentioning Other Areas Of Policy

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Q2 Lara Bird SNP
Scotland
Context

The Scottish Parliament recently voted to devolve energy powers back to Scotland.

Question

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?

Answer from Douglas Alexander

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question about when energy powers will be devolved was not directly answered.

How: Referencing Past Actions, Mentioning Other Areas Of Policy

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Q3 Lillian Jones Lab
NHS Taxation Scotland
Context

For 23 years, the questioner served in Scotland's NHS.

Question

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?

Answer from Douglas Alexander

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.

Answered
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Q4 Andrew Bowie Con West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
Scotland
Context

The SNP Government has been in power for 20 years.

Question

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?

Answer from Douglas Alexander

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question about Labour not devolving power was not directly answered.

How: Referencing Past Actions, Mentioning Other Areas Of Policy

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Q5 Andrew Bowie Con West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
Scotland
Context

The SNP Government has been involved with various issues including gender recognition reform.

Question

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?

Answer from Douglas Alexander

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.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The question about urging the new PM was not directly answered.

How: Referencing Past Actions, Mentioning Other Areas Of Policy

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