DEPUTY First Minister Kate Forbes has urged the UK Government to "restore the democratic voice of the Scottish Parliament" by repealing the Internal Market Act.
Forbes has said the Scottish Parliament's full powers must be restored, with Holyrood having been stripped of many due to the post-Brexit legislation.
A Scottish Government Position Paper on the Internal Market Act 2020 published on Thursday says the act should be repealed and replaced with a system agreed by all devolved administrations and the UK Government.
Two votes in the Scottish Parliament, in October 2023 and February 2025, have called for the full restoration of the powers of the Scottish Parliament but have been ignored.
The new paper comes as the consultation period for the UK Government’s statutory review of the Internal Market Act concludes.
Forbes said the act remains the "single greatest impediment" to more effective intergovernmental relations.
She said: “The Scottish Government’s position is clear, we must see the full restoration of the powers of the Scottish Parliament. The Internal Market Act should be repealed and the UK Government must work with the devolved governments to deliver an agreed and workable alternative.
“The act was imposed by the previous UK Government without the consent of any devolved legislature. It remains the single greatest impediment to more effective and respectful intergovernmental relations.
“Neither the Scottish Parliament nor any of the other devolved legislatures gave their consent to the act. It has introduced radical uncertainty as to the effect of devolved laws, effectively introducing a far-reaching and unpredictable new constraint on the powers of the Scottish Parliament.
“It also provides UK ministers with an open-ended power effectively to nullify laws passed by a democratically elected – and accountable – legislature.
“It is deeply regrettable that the UK Government explicitly ruled out repealing the Internal Market Act before it began the review process and consultation but this new paper offers them an opportunity to work with the Scottish Government to restore the democratic voice of the Scottish Parliament.”
But its critics say it takes powers away from the devolved parliaments – scuppering efforts like Scotland’s deposit return scheme.
The scheme was eventually scrapped after UK ministers refused to co-operate with the Scottish Government on its plans for the recycling scheme by withholding an exemption to the act.
In October last year, academics from the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy said the act had created a “road block” for devolution that must be resolved if Labour want to fulfil their pledge of resetting relations with Holyrood.
They said the legislation designed to ensure smooth trade within the UK post-Brexit is “antagonistic to devolution”, diminishes the authority of governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and has contributed to the “erosion of trust” between the UK Government and devolved nations.
Last year, the UK Government did not grant the Scottish Government an exemption to the act for a ban on the sale of glue traps.
The change was passed in the Government’s Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill, but Scottish ministers were forced to ask for an exemption to the IMA to allow the move to be finalised.
Academics insisted that “doing nothing” about the act "is not a viable option" and “carries considerable risks” for devolved governments, as it gives the UK Government – now and in the future – a “powerful gatekeeping role” over how devolved institutions exercise their policy and law-making powers.
