SCOTLAND’S Transport Secretary has joined forces with his counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland to warn the UK Government over using a connectivity review to “undermine” devolution.
The UK Government has announced a review will take place, chaired by Sir Peter Hendy.
But Michael Matheson, together with Ken Skates from the Welsh Government and Nichola Mallon from the Northern Ireland Executive, have penned a letter to UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, stressing that any review should not "pressure devolved governments into specific funding choices”.
A war of words has ramped up between Westminster and devolved administrations over the UK Government’s Internal Market Bill.
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Devolved governments claim the bill allows the UK Government to spend money in areas they have no responsibility over and “without any required engagement with the devolved governments”.
The letter says: “We are in agreement that the UK Government should honour its commitments to infrastructure investment across the UK and you should do so by ensuring adequate new resource is made available through relevant budgets, to allow decisions on infrastructure priorities to be taken by teach devolved government.
“We have all robust processes for identifying our investment priorities, each setting our own transport strategies and priorities for transport in our devolved nations. We suggest that further studies like this one are not required, however we would be willing to have meaningful engagement on the funding opportunities for these priorities.
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“Any review must respect the individual responsibilities and devolved functions that rest with each of our four democratic devolved parliaments and that rest with us as ministers. Any review that takes place must not in any way undermine those responsibilities or be used to pressure devolved governments into specific funding choices.”
Today I have written jointly with Ministers in Wales & Northern Ireland to Grant Shapps to warn that the UK Government's connectivity review & Internal Market Bill must not encroach on devolved powers. Ministers in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland must be consulted & respected. pic.twitter.com/GsxGyHA9bG
— Michael Matheson MSP (@MathesonMichael) September 16, 2020
It adds: “As ministers we feel that we should be honest with you about these challenges. Following publication of the recent Internal Market Bill, we remain deeply concerns about the way the UK Government seems intent to encroach into our devolved powers and ministerial responsibilities, something that is now eroding trust as reviews of this nature come up.
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“This connectivity review must not be positioned to create a list of schemes by which that new power can then be utilised without our consent as devolved ministers with devolved responsibility.
“We believe that if a review of this kind is to take place, with meaningful devolved engagement, there must be agreement with the relevant infrastructure ministers in each devolved administration on the terms of reference and the scope of its work.”
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