No case for Holyrood to lose powers – devolution review chief

SIR Kenneth Calman, who will head the Scottish Constitutional Commission, last night said he did not believe there was a case for powers to be transferred back to Westminster from Holyrood.

Sir Kenneth, the Chancellor of Glasgow University, was speaking exclusively to The Scotsman ahead of the 15-member commission's first meeting at the Scottish Parliament on Monday.

He also said he believed that a transfer of control over areas such as broadcasting, control of Scotland's seas, firearms legislation and drug abuse laws, as well as economic powers, to Holyrood should be considered.

Sir Kenneth said: "We have a clear remit voted for by a large majority of MSPs. That is that we secure the position of Scotland within the United Kingdom.

"I am a passionate Scot who is happy to live in the United Kingdom.

"I have lived in London and in the north-east of England and I never felt like a foreigner, as I hope English people do not feel like foreigners in Scotland."

Sir Kenneth said he was working on the "gut feeling" that devolution and the Scottish Parliament had been a success, but "we have to quantify that and provide evidence".

And he said that he saw "no case for powers being taken away from Scotland", adding: "There are areas, such as broadcasting, firearms legislation, drug-abuse laws and marine legislation (where] we should consider (giving control to the Scottish Parliament].

"We have to provide detailed evidence and reasons to change the status quo. There may be other areas we need to explore."

The academic said that questions over tax-raising powers and oil revenues would be "the most complex" and revealed that, for these areas, he intends to work with "a group of specialists".

Sir Kenneth also dismissed the SNP's claims that the commission would not engage with members of the public, unlike their "national conversation".

He said: "These are not rival processes. I will be using the national conversation, especially its papers on devolution.

"I hope the Scottish Government will co-operate with us.

"We will have our own website and we will go round the country and encourage groups to write to us with their observations.

"It will not be an expensive commission, but we will do what we can to engage Scotland. We will also regularly publish papers on which people can comment."

LOOKING AT SCOTLAND IN THE UK

THE Scottish Constitutional Commission will be made up of 15 members, including academics, politicians from the three main unionist parties, community group representatives and faith representatives.

It has been set up to look at Scotland's place within the UK ten years on from devolution, following an initiative from Labour's Scottish leader Wendy Alexander, supported by the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.

It will publish an interim report by the end of this year with a final report to go to Holyrood and Westminster by next spring.

Sir Kenneth Calman, the chairman of the commission, has promised that regular discussion papers and direction papers will be produced along the way.

Alongside this is the SNP's rival National Conversation which is also asking people about more powers for Scotland and, unlike the commission, is looking at the case for independence.