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Extra powers are being promised for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved administrations under the UK Government\u2019s plans for dealing with Brexit.<\/p>\nExtra powers are being promised for the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish devolved administrations under the UK Government\u2019s plans for dealing with Brexit.<\/p>\n
Measures that were previously regulated by the European Union will return to the UK at the end of the year when the transition period expires.<\/p>\n
Responsibilities in 160 policy areas \u2013 including animal welfare, public procurement rules and environmental regulations \u2013 will now go to one or more of the devolved administrations.<\/p>\n
The way the UK government is handling the return of powers from Brussels has already provoked a row with Nicola Sturgeon\u2019s administration in Scotland after it was revealed that Whitehall will assume control of the state aid regime.<\/p>\n
The proposed changes \u2013 set out in a white paper being published on Thursday for a four-week consultation \u2013 will see Northern Ireland receive responsibility in 157 of the 160 areas, Scotland in 111 and Wales in 70.<\/p>\n
As this could lead to different regulatory regimes in the UK, the Government has drawn up plans for the \u201cinternal market\u201d to ensure seamless trade between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
At the heart of the plans are the principles of mutual recognition \u2013 so regulations in one part of the UK are recognized in all the other nations \u2013 and non-discrimination, providing a \u201clevel playing field\u201d for companies across the UK.<\/p>\n
The plans were compared by officials to the systems governing trade between the states and territories of Australia and the cantons in Switzerland.<\/p>\n
Officials said that without these actions a Welsh lamb producer could end up unable to sell their meat in Scotland, or Scotch whisky producers could lose access to supply from English barley farmers.<\/p>\n
UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: \u201cWithout these necessary reforms, the way we trade goods and services between the home nations could be seriously impacted, harming the way we do business within our own borders.\u201d <\/p>\n
The UK Government highlighted the importance of the measures to jobs and livelihoods \u2013 Scottish sales of produce to the rest of the UK are worth \u00a352.1 billion a year and account for 60% of exports, 50% of Northern Ireland\u2019s sales are to Great Britain and 75% of Welsh exports are to the other parts of the UK.<\/p>\n
An independent body could monitor legislation in the various administrations, but officials stressed it would not have the same level of influence as the European Commission which currently oversees the measures which will return to the UK.<\/p>\n
The SNP\u2019s Westminster leader Ian Blackford accused Boris Johnson of the \u201cbiggest power grab\u201d since the launch of the Scottish Parliament over of the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWestminster\u2019s plan to impose an unelected, unaccountable body to rule on decisions made by the Scottish Parliament will not be accepted,\u201d he told Mr Johnson at Prime Minister\u2019s Questions.<\/p>\n
But Conservative party Cabinet Minister Michael Gove said the plan was a \u201cpower surge\u201d to the devolved administrations.<\/p>\n
He promised to work with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations \u201con a new structure for how we can cooperate better and share ideas\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople right across the UK want their governments and institutions to work together at every level to improve their lives, and the UK Government is committed to working to do this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Scottish Government\u2019s Constitution Secretary Mike Russell echoed Mr Blackford\u2019s sentiments of \u201can outrageous attempt to disguise a power grab\u201d.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThis is one of the most significant threats to devolution yet, even eclipsing previous UK Government attempts in this area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 70 so-called \u2018new powers\u2019 are in areas that are already devolved, and they include matters such as food safety, animal and plant health and environmental standards, all of which are at the core of devolution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile \u2018mutual recognition\u2019 of standards and \u2018regime across all areas of non-discrimination\u2019 may sound innocent, what they disguise is a mechanism that will enable the UK Government to impose lower standards on Scotland \u2013 for example in food safety and environmental protections \u2013 as it seeks to achieve trade deals with countries outside the EU.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system would require regulatory standards in one part of the UK to be automatically accepted in the others, regardless of whether those standards are lower than those the Scottish Parliament might find acceptable.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur world-class reputation for high quality food and drink would suffer from these proposals as the UK Government embarks on a race to the bottom \u2013 to the huge detriment of people and businesses across Scotland.\u201d CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said: \u201cPreserving the integrity of the internal single market \u2013 the economic glue binding our four nations \u2013 is essential to guard against any additional costs or barriers to doing business between different parts of the UK.<\/p>\n
\u201cIncreasing prosperity, creating opportunities for all and raising living standards will be the hallmarks of success. Delivery will be the real test, requiring closer collaboration between business, Westminster and devolved administrations.\u201d<\/p>\n