By Martin Sime

As the temperature rises on the fiscal framework deal being negotiated between the Scottish and UK governments, the rump of the Smith Commission new-powers proposals in the Scotland Bill have disappeared from view. "Done and dusted, promised and delivered", was the rather smug message just before the end of the year.

Included in the Smith package was the promise to devolve employability funding and services to help unemployed people find work. But the plan to give the Scottish Parliament new powers and responsibilities for employability support has just been dealt a mortal blow. An 80 per cent cut in the funding that was meant to accompany the new powers and the continuation of the much criticised sanctions regime for unemployed claimants have taken the wind out of emerging ideas about how to do things differently in Scotland.

Since devolution there have been repeated calls for the Scottish Parliament to be given full responsibility for employment programmes. Better integration with other services such as criminal justice, health and care, along with a joined-up approach in regard to skills-based training, college provision and the work of the voluntary sector, were seen as the main advantages. There was much talk of connecting services, making better use of resources and eliminating duplication. The status quo had few supporters and no logic behind it.

Largely, the Smith Commission accepted these arguments. The UK Government’s flagship Work Programme was seen to be failing and had become deeply unpopular in Scotland, not least because it was run by private-sector behemoths trying to make profits off the backs of the unemployed. The not-too-difficult challenge was to design something better and more attuned to the needs and aspirations of those who might use such a service to get back to work. Much good work was under way, with April 2017 set as the start date.

Alas, the UK Government recently confirmed the end of the Work Programme along with the Work Choices scheme that provided specialist support for people with disabilities. Only a small fraction of the anticipated funding will be devolved to Scotland. Furthermore, it seems that job centres will continue to have the lead role over people during the first two years of unemployment, so the heavy-handed mandatory activity and sanctions approach that has driven so many people to destitution and foodbanks is set to continue.

In short, the employability deal brokered by the Smith Commission looks to have collapsed. Without anything like enough funding, it will be impossible for a new Scottish offer for unemployed people to become a reality. Through the dual arms of job centres and Universal Credit, the UK Government will continue to hold all the cards. Its punitive approach will continue to damage some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Many observers had quiet reservations about the whole Smith Commission process, questioning whether it was, in fact, a closed-door deal involving politicians trading powers for advantageous sound bites. The citizen and his or her experience of public services was nowhere to be seen. Now another large hole has been torn in what was already an extremely modest set of new powers.

The pity is that it is almost impossible to comment on any of this without being seen to be in a Nationalist or Unionist camp. The politicisation of public services can bring benefits in some circumstances, including greater transparency, wider debate and a need to build consensus about the best way forward. None of that applies to what has just happened to employability support.

The public and even most politicians are nowhere near the debate; citizens, especially those who might need to avail themselves of these services, don’t get a look in; the power of the UK Treasury remains undiminished.

I remember hearing some claims that Smith would be the end of it; an enduring settlement to give the Scottish Parliament the powers and resources it needs to do the job properly. What has happened here, however, shows how unlikely it is that this is the end of our devolution story. With employability we see a bad deal gone sour that will inevitably need to be recast in the future. The only question is whether we have learned our lesson. Next time let’s put the aspirations and needs of those who might use these services front and centre in the debate.

Martin Sime is chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.