Devolution has left England in a timewarp, warn MPs

UK MINISTERS should come up with a comprehensive plan to address the iniquities of devolution for England, scrap the Barnett Formula and consider getting rid of the post of Scottish Secretary, an influential group of MPs claimed yesterday.

The House of Commons Justice Committee published a report warning of a serious devolution imbalance for England. The MPs said the system of government for England would have to change, but failed to agree what should take its place.

They also attacked the Barnett Formula – which allocates a set percentage of spending increases to the constituent parts of the UK – because it was unfair to England. They called for a review, but again failed to provide a clear picture of a replacement.

The posts of Scottish and Welsh Secretary should also be abolished, the committee said, and instead the UK government should consider a Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs with special responsibility for the regions.

The Justice Committee inquiry is looking at devolution ten years on, from the English perspective.

The Calman Commission is considering what changes can be made to the devolution settlement to improve the workings of the Scottish Parliament and the Holtham Commission is doing a similar job in Wales.

Justice Committee chairman Sir Alan Beith said: "Devolution has radically changed the way Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are governed and is changing the governance of the United Kingdom, but England, which has 84 per cent of the population, is the unfinished business of devolution – stuck in a pre-devolution timewarp, while the rest of the UK has moved on.

The committee said: "There is no consensus about solutions to the English question, or the range of questions which arise under that heading. Each suggested answer has its own problems and limitations."

The report condemned the Barnett Formula – in operation since the 1970s – as "no longer fit for purpose", arguing that it is "overdue for reform and lacks any basis in equity or logic".

The committee called for a UK-wide review of the formula and urged ministers to put forward an alternative system covering all the regions of the UK.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice said: "We acknowledge the significance of devolution, and are already attempting to make sure it is more fully recognised in our system of governance, and we hope that the committee's recommendations will help us take this further."

MSP Mike Russell, the SNP's minister for the constitution, said: "A far better arrangement would be to replace the post of Scottish Secretary with a system whereby the devolved administrations have a direct relationship with 10 Downing Street through the Cabinet Office."