UK Government told to consider scrapping role of Scottish Secretary

The UK Government is being asked to consider abolishing the Scotland Office.

MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster say its role has “changed significantly since Holyrood was established 20 years ago.

They’re now calling for a review of the role of secretary of state for Scotland, currently held by Dumfriesshire MP David Mundell.

The committee is also warning differences between the ministers in Edinburgh and London over independence and Brexit have led to an “avoidable deficit of trust” between the two administrations.

Committee chairman Pete Wishart said while the relationship between the two Governments was “far from ideal it is not beyond repair”.

Mr Wishart said: “We are calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to make fundamental changes in their approach to devolution to restore trust.

“We've also heard evidence questioning the effectiveness of the Scotland Office in Whitehall so we are pressing for a review of the role of the Scotland Office and the secretary of state for Scotland to ensure intergovernmental processes adapt to the changing nature of devolution.”

In its recommendations on this, the committee suggested the UK Government “explore options” including replacing its departments for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with a “a single department responsible for managing constitutional affairs and intergovernmental relations”.

Training in Whitehall was suggested to improve awareness of devolution, with MPs saying they were “alarmed” a UK Government survey showed only a third of civil servants felt they had a good level of knowledge about this.

In addition, they said reform was needed “urgently” to the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC) system - which brings ministers from the devolved Governments together with their UK counterparts.

MPs said the “existing setup and organisation of the JMC has resulted in it being predominantly controlled by the UK Government” adding this had “limited its effectiveness”.

Meetings should be hosted and chaired by each of the administrations on a rotating basis, the committee suggested, with these held frequently and “to a set schedule”, with agendas agreed in advance by all parties.

But the committee said technical reforms would only go so far, adding the “fundamental issue is how to develop and embed a strong relationship between the two Governments where both parties trust and respect each other”.

In their inquiry into relations 20 years on from devolution, the MPs heard an “atmosphere of suspicion between the two Governments” had developed.

Relations between Holyrood and Westminster changed after the SNP came to power in 2007, with tensions increasing in the run-up to the 2014 independence referendum.

The report added: “This trend of strained personal relations and lost trust between political leaders appears to have been exacerbated by Brexit where, as with the Scottish independence referendum, the two Governments have diametrically opposed political goals."