THE UK Internal Market Act (UKIMA) has created a “road block” for devolution that must be resolved if the Labour Government is to fulfil its pledge of resetting the relationship with Holyrood.
In a new report, academics from the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Public Policy have 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.
The new Labour Government has pledged to reset the relationship between Westminster, Holyrood, the Senedd and Stormont, but it is claimed in the paper this commitment "cannot be met" unless the "road block" is resolved.
The report said: "All roads to such a reset must first recognise and navigate the road block created by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act."
Earlier this 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 earlier this month, but Scottish ministers were forced to ask for an exemption to the IMA to allow the move to be finalised.
An exemption from the act was also needed for the Scottish Government's Deposit Return Scheme to come into force, but Westminster leaders refused to grant one which covered glass containers, saying that the scheme would put Scottish consumers at a disadvantage compared to others in the UK.
Holyrood ministers then said omitting glass meant the recycling initiative would not be viable and the plan was put on hold.
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.
“The fact that UKIMA had strengthened the UK Government’s hierarchical role vis-à-vis the devolved governments also acts as a barrier to sustaining improved, productive and collaborative intergovernmental relations,” the report said.
“Governing without consent is always likely to carry risks. The UKIMA does not have the consent of the devolved institutions, and yet it has challenged their authority and some of the principles and ambitions upon which they were founded.”
The report suggests the act should either be repealed or significantly modified, adding that a repeal – the preferred option of the Scottish Parliament – would “demonstrate a commitment to devolution”.
However, it added repealing the act would place a “heavy burden on a machinery of intergovernmental relations” that is “ill-equipped to cope”.
Experts state that reforms "should not be for the UK Government alone to determine, nor the UK Parliament alone" and said collaboration between the legislatures is the only way to ensure consensus.
Professor Nicola McEwen, from the University of Glasgow, said: "The UK Internal Market Act was introduced despite considerable opposition from devolved institutions. It has already had a constraining impact on their policy ambitions. The UK Government should recognise and address that if it is to achieve a meaningful reset in its relationships with the devolved governments."
The act was brought in by the former Conservative government in December 2020, but it was opposed by Scottish and Welsh governments.
The report by experts from the universities of Glasgow, Stirling, Liverpool and Queens University Belfast claims the act hampers devolved governments' ability to make "ambitious" measures a reality and there is a lack of agreement over the procedures for achieving exemptions.
And while there is now cross-government working on new restrictions to the sale of tobacco and vapes, the report claims "UKIMA-driven coordination risks stifling policy innovation at the devolved level, may slow the pace of policy development and could generate pressure to conform to the standards that the UK Government deems appropriate for England".
