SNP Leader and First Minister Alex Salmond has written to the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, offering out a last opportunity to agree to transfer the powers from Westminster to Holyrood that were recommended by the Calman Commission and where there is consensus support in Scotland – such as the drink drive limit, speed limit, control of air weapons, and responsibility for Scottish elections.

The First Minister’s letter is underpinned by a Motion passed by the Scottish Parliament on 9 December 2009, which supported the transfer of these powers “before the dissolution of the current UK Parliament”.

The Scottish Government has published the necessary Orders to achieve this – which could be approved at the Privy Council meeting in March if they are laid at Westminster by 15 January and at Holyrood by 20 January.

Commenting, SNP MP and Spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs, Pete Wishart said 

“Scottish Ministers have given the Prime Minister a workable timetable for transferring these responsibilities to Holyrood.  There is no possible reason why the people of Scotland need wait for these important and necessary changes.  If they are the right thing to do – and we all agree that they are – then we should be delivering them as quickly as possible, not kicking them into the Westminster long grass."

The text of Mr Salmond's letter is as follows: 

In my letter of 24 November, I urged you to work with the Scottish Government to implement those recommendations of the Commission on Scottish Devolution on which there is widespread agreement before the next General Election.

Some of these recommendations require legislation but others do not.  I set out a timetable under which Orders in Council could be passed within months, in the Scottish Parliament and at Westminster, to implement those recommendations which require legislation to transfer responsibilities.  These included the power to regulate air weapons which Jim Murphy mentioned in his statement to the House of Commons on 25 November.  I also provided a list of 15 other recommendations which do not require any legislation to implement.

The Secretary of State for Scotland responded to my letter on 7 December, and said that a single piece of primary legislation would be brought forward in the next Parliament for those recommendations that required legislation.  He argued that “this single piece of legislation will provide people in Scotland with clarity” and “provide them with robust legislation grounded in proper analysis”.

I cannot see the logic in the argument that the devolution of, for example, powers to regulate airguns and set the drink driving limit in Scotland, on which there is widespread agreement, must wait for the development of proposals on taxation and borrowing on which there is no such agreement.

On 9 December the Scottish Parliament passed the following motion:

“That the Parliament welcomes the recommendations of the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution that responsibility for the law across a range of areas be devolved to the Scottish Parliament and also welcomes the recommendations for closer working between the Scottish and UK Ministers to ensure that the needs of Scotland are properly represented, and urges the UK Government to work with the Scottish Parliament to ensure that, where there is consensus, all such recommendations are implemented before the dissolution of the current UK Parliament.”

In his letter, Jim Murphy pointed out that the Calman Commission had been established by majority agreement and that the Commission’s report had been delivered by consensus.  He said that the UK Government response to the Commission had been prepared with “consensus and momentum”.

In light of the Scottish Parliament’s vote, I would ask you again to work with the Scottish Government to make progress in the interest of the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament has also welcomed the recommendations for closer working between Scottish and UK Ministers.  We made it clear during the debate that the Scottish Government is keen to consider proposals to improve the machinery of intergovernmental relations, and is looking forward to discussing these through the Joint Ministerial Committee.  We have criticised some of the Commission’s proposals for confusing the accountability of Scottish and UK Ministers to their respective parliaments, but that does not mean that we would not welcome steps to improve mutual understanding between our institutions.

In his letter, Jim Murphy asks the Scottish Government to allow officials to work with the UK Government officials on the full Calman package as they undertake detailed policy and legal work required to take forward legislation.  Any changes to the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament or the functions of the Scottish Ministers would, of course, require the agreement of the Scottish Parliament under the Sewel Convention, and so I would certainly expect the Scottish Government to be fully consulted about the development of your proposals for implementing his white paper.

In the meantime, the priority must be action to implement the changes about which everyone is agreed.  Scottish Government officials prepared draft Scotland Act Orders in the summer, and we have set out a timetable for laying the Orders at Holyrood and Westminster to achieve the necessary Privy Council approval.  It is still possible to meet this timetable although Orders need to be laid at Westminster by 15 January and Holyrood by 20 January.  The transfer of these responsibilities will have consequences for other government functions – devolved and reserved.  Scottish Government officials are ready to work through the detail of these consequences with Whitehall officials.

Similarly, Scottish Government officials and Ministers are ready to discuss the implementation of those recommendations which do not require legislation and which I listed in my letter to you on 24 November.  We also look forward to discussing the recommendations on inter-governmental cooperation at an early meeting of the JMC so that the necessary changes can be agreed before next year’s UK General Election.