Download or read book The Referendum on Separation for Scotland Session 2013 14 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Scottish Affairs Committee and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book HC 1241 The Referendum on Separation for Scotland Scotland s membership of the EU written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-05-27 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today Scotland's interests in the European Union are represented by the UK which, as one of the largest Member States, has the voting power and leverage to influence decisions to the benefit of Scotland. In leaving the UK, a separate Scotland would lose this advantage. A separate Scotland is likely to have its application to join the EU accepted - but not within the self-imposed timetable of 18 months, nor with the terms, that the Scottish Government is proposing. The proposal that Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union could be used to provide for Scottish membership is not supported by any other EU state; senior EU figures have ruled it out and it is opposed by the United Kingdom Government - which would, under this process, have to initiate it. The additional and exceptional demand for the ability to discriminate against UK students with respect to tuition fees would be voted against by the UK Government and is therefore almost certain not to be met. Furthermore, insufficient attention has been paid to the need to negotiate the UK's retention of VAT zero rating on a wide range of goods. As a separate Member State, not only would Scotland cease to benefit from the UK rebate (currently worth in the region of £300 million per year to Scotland) but it would have to contribute to it. In these circumstances Scottish voters need a more realistic alternative perspective of how joining the EU would be achieved, and what its likely terms and timetable would be.

Download or read book House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee The Referendum on Separation for Scotland Session 2013 14 HC 140 I written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-10-07 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incorporating HC 139-xv - HC 139-xx, session 2012-13 and follows on from HC 139-II, session 2012-13 (ISBN 9780215052551). For related report, see HCP 542 (ISBN 9780215047489)

Download or read book The referendum on separation for Scotland session 2013 14 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-03-24 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Earlier volumes of evidence published as HC 1608, session 2010-12 (ISBN 9780215044211), HC 139-I, session 2012-13 (ISBN 9780215047519), HC 139-II, session 2012-13 (ISBN 9780215052551) and HC 140-I, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215062482)

Download or read book House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee The Referendum on Separation for Scotland The Need for Truth HC 828 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-11-15 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In a report published ahead of the expected White Paper on Separation, the Scottish Affairs Committee says that the Scottish Government must meet high standards of accuracy and openness and avoid any risk of using public money to promote a party political agenda. Any document that is produced as a Government White Paper must meet the highest standards of accuracy and clarity, and must be totally honest about the risks, alternative possible scenarios and costs involved in Separation. The Committee is concerned that the Scottish Government has shown a propensity to mislead Scottish voters on the likely outcome of some of the negotiations that would be needed for the final Separation agreement - as well as the timescale on which this could be achieved. Many important questions - like EU membership or the currency - have to be negotiated with the UK Government and others, and the White Paper cannot simply claim that the SNP will get whatever they want. It must lay out all the alternative scenarios that might actually emerge from these negotiations - and their consequences. Particular uncertainties highlighted by the Committee include membership of the EU, currency, and benefits, public services, taxation and pensions.

Download or read book The Referendum on Separation for Scotland written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Scottish Affairs Committee and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The referendum on separation for Scotland written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-03-16 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scottish Government must acknowledge and address the damaging effects on higher education and research that Separation would bring. The Committee has examined the various aspects of the Scottish Government's stated policy on higher education and research, and concludes: Scottish universities currently receive over 50% more in research grants from the UK Research Councils than they would if allocation of funding was based on population share; proposals to discriminate against students from the rest of the UK by charging them higher fees would not be legally sustainable in the event of separation and eventual accession to the EU thus creating a £150 million black hole in Scotland's higher education budget with an expectation that this figure would rise; the Scottish Government has not made it clear why it expects the UK's universities and academics to freely co-operate with a separate Scotland which is intent on discriminating against UK students nor how it would overcome the expected loss of unrestricted access to the UK's research base that would inevitably follow separation; Scotland's universities and researchers would lose access to the United Kingdom's Science and Innovation Network (SIN) based in British Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates around the world and which is key to enabling the Scottish research community access to sources of international funding and expertise. The Committee recognises the attraction of achieving a degree of flexibility on immigration which Separation may offer and believe the United Kingdom Government should clarify whether any such gains could be made available within the existing immigration system.

Download or read book The Referendum on Separation for Scotland written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Scottish Affairs Committee and published by . This book was released on 2014-02-05 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HC 842, session 2013-14 (ISBN 9780215064615)

Download or read book The Referendum on Separation for Scotland written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Scottish Affairs Committee and published by . This book was released on 2013-06-14 with total page 5 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HC 957, session 2012-13 (ISBN 9780215056795)

Download or read book House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee The Referendum on Separation for Scotland A Defence Force For Scotland A Conspiracy Of Optimism HC 842 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-11-23 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scottish Government's White Paper must make absolutely clear the details of both its foreign and defence policies. Much of what has been suggested up to now suffers from a conspiracy of optimism. The most explicit pledges made to date include: that the whole cost of security and defence will be no more than £2.5 billion, that personnel in the armed services will total 15,000 full time and 5,000 reserve personnel, and that the defence force will include "current Scottish raised and restored UK regiments". Will we then have a defence force which is army heavy? An army which is infantry heavy? Or will historic regiments be redesignated as platoons, reserves or non-infantry units? If Faslane is to be kept at its existing workforce, how will people be retrained? What costs will be inccurred in the transition to the new Scottish Defence Force? What are the implications for procurement whether or not Scotland gets the assets it wants? Hanging over all of this is the future of Trident. Will a separate Scotland impose unilateral nuclear disarmament on the UK? Furthermore, membership for Scotland of NATO will require not only the unanimous agreement of all the existing NATO members, but also the resolution of any disputes with the UK. The Scottish Government must spell out what wages and conditions it would propose to offer to compensate those who would leave behind participation in world class armed services. The people of Scotland are entitled to expect that those who propose drastic change can explain what the consequences would be.

Download or read book HC 1291 Blacklisting in Employment Update Incorporating the Government s Response to the Sixth Report of Session 2013 14 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-05-19 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the third report from the Scottish Affairs Committee on blacklisting in the construction industry in Scotland. The earlier interim reports published as 9th report, session 2012-13 (HC 1071, ISBN 9780215056832) and 6th report, session 2013-14 (HC 543, ISBN 9780215069535). The 9th report focused specifically on the work of The Consulting Association (TCA) and considered the issue of compensation for those workers who had been blacklisted. Significant progress has been made in highlighting and addressing issues relating to blacklisting: the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched its own investigation; many victims of blacklisting are bringing individual case to the High Court and a new compensation scheme, the Construction Workers Compensation Scheme (TCWCS), for blacklisted workers has been launched by eight of the companies that used the services of TCA. The 6th report aimed to identify ways of moving forward, both by addressing the crimes of the past and by identifying rules and structures to prevent such widespread and systematic exclusion of workers from employment from ever happening again. In this third interim report the Committee welcomes the significant progress which has been made in both revealing the practice of blacklisting, and in seeking redress for the victims, and families of the victims, of this odious practice. The Committee will continue to explore what more could be done to redress the crimes of the past and to ensure that reform in the industry to eradicate this practice is genuine, effective and comprehensive in its effects.

Download or read book House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee The Impact of the Bedroom Tax in Scotland Interim Report HC 288 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Scottish Affairs Committee calls for the repeal of the Bedroom Tax. While this is being considered, the Committee calls on the Government to suspend application of the Bedroom Tax for all those tenants to whom a reasonable alternative offer cannot be made. There are not enough smaller houses available for tenants to transfer into. The lack of any alternative offers means that tenants have no choice but to go into arrears if they simply cannot afford the extra costs. Other amendments proposed for the operation of the tax include: exemptions for those disabled people who require a room to store or use equipment or aids; non application where it would be financially perverse to do so - eg where removing fixed aids and adaptations, and then reinstalling them in a smaller home, would be more expensive than the savings over two years; all children of secondary school age should be allowed a bedroom of their own to allow quiet study; all disabled children, of whatever age, should have a bedroom of their own. The Committee also calls for changes to the system of Discretionary Housing Payments, which have been designed by the Government to mitigate the worst impacts of the Bedroom Tax. There should be a standard nationwide entitlement system, across the UK as a whole, rather than the present postcode lottery. The UK and Scottish Governments should make longer term commitments to the provision of DHP payments in order to allow local authorities to plan and structure their budgets.

Download or read book HC 484 Power Outages and Extreme Weather Conditions in the West of Scotland written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014-05-14 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The local authority and power company response to the severe weather of 2013 in Kintyre, Arran and Wigtownshire shows that important lessons have been learned and improvements put in place since the Committee last reported on this issue, in August 2012. The Committee is satisfied that all three councils affected by the severe weather have in place robust contingency planning for emergencies, which proved effective. Crucially, the compensation for those left without power - with all the damage that can cause - has been brought into line with the rest of the country. The Committee's conclusion's included that: emergency plans should prioritise accessing mobile phone base stations to restore lost signals; the A83 is a vital artery for the Kintyre peninsula and the decision to upgrade it to a trunk road is an important one, as this will allow the resources of Transport Scotland to be deployed to keep it open during extreme weather conditions; the new Hunterston-Kintyre transmission line will mean there will be two transmission lines serving the Kintyre peninsula, so the failure of one of the lines will not see Kintyre & Arran cut off from the power network; and caring for vulnerable members of the community is another statutory responsibility of local authorities: local authorities have done a great deal of work to expand their databases and identify those who are in need but councils should also do more to support the community groups that are engaging local people in the process of caring for the vulnerable

Download or read book Debating Scotland written by Michael Keating and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On 18 September 2014, Scotland held a referendum on the question: Should Scotland be an independent country? This is a most unusual event in modern democracies and engaged the political class, civil society, and the general public to an unprecedented degree, leading to an 85 per cent turnout in the final vote. This was an occasion to debate not just the narrow constitutional issue but the future of the nation, including the economy, social welfare, defence and security, and Scotland's place in Europe and the world. Debating Scotland comes from a team of researchers who observed the debates from close-up and engaged with both sides, with the media and with the public in analyzing the issues, while remaining neutral on the independence question. The book examines the main issues at stake, how they were presented, and how they evolved over the course of the campaign. The editors and contributing authors explore the ways both independence and union were framed, the economic issues, the currency, welfare, defence and security, the European Union, and how the example of small independent states was used. The volume concludes with an analysis of voter responses, based upon original survey research, which demonstrates how perceptions of risk and uncertainty on the main issues played a key role in the outcome.

Download or read book Security in a Small Nation written by Andrew W. Neal and published by Open Book Publishers. This book was released on 2017-03-15 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 2014 Referendum on Scottish independence sparked debate on every dimension of modern statehood. Levels of public interest and engagement were unprecedented, as demonstrated by record-breaking voter turnout. Yet aside from Trident, the issue of security was relatively neglected in the campaigns, and there remains a lack of literature on the topic. In this volume Andrew Neal has collated a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives on security and constitutional change in Scotland and the UK, including writing from experts in foreign policy analysis, intelligence studies, parliamentary studies, and journalism. Security in a Small Nation provides an illuminating analysis of the politics of security. Its authors reflect on a number of related issues including international comparisons, alliances, regional cooperation, terrorism, intelligence sharing, democratic oversight, and media coverage. It has a particular focus on what security means for small states and democratic politics. The book draws on current debates about the extent of intelligence powers and their implications for accountability, privacy, and human rights. It examines the foreign and security policy of other small states through the prism of Scottish independence, providing unique insight into the bureaucratic and political processes associated with multi-level security governance. These contributions provide a detailed picture of the changing landscape of security, including the role of diverse and decentralised agencies, and new security interdependencies within and between states. The analysis presented in this book will inform ongoing constitutional debates in the UK and the study of other secessionist movements around the world. Security in a Small Nation is essential reading for any follower of UK and Scottish politics, and those with an interest in security and nationhood on a global scale.

Download or read book HC 1130 Legacy Report written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Scottish Affairs Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this report the Committee has set out key elements of its work over the 2010-15 Parliament. The Committee believes that it is crucial that select committees follow up their work and do not simply see the publication of a report as the end of the process of scrutiny. Scrutiny should not end with the Dissolution of Parliament. The Scottish Government was clear that the 2014 referendum on independence would be a once generation event, but that does not mean that the relationship between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom will remain unchanged. The recommendations of the Smith Agreement will be implemented during the course of the next Parliament. The major package of legislation, and the revised fiscal framework that will accompany it, will require careful and detailed scrutiny, as will any proposals to go further that the Smith Commission envisaged.

Download or read book HC 928 Impact of the Closure of City Link on Employment written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Committees on Impact of the closure of City Link on Employment and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015-03-23 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There will always be those who lose out when a company goes into administration and cannot cover all of its debts. However, the current system does not represent the appropriate balance, since those who have given secure credit to a company are cushioned from the full impact of an insolvency, because the losses are borne by those who work for a company on a self-employed basis, or as contractors or suppliers. Under the current rules it is clearly in the financial interest of a company to break the law, and ignore the statutory redundancy consultation period, if the fine for doing so is less than the cost of continuing to trade, especially since this fine will anyway be paid by the taxpayer. However, while the financial calculation is simple, ignoring the consultation period has a high human cost that appears not to have featured in the decision making process at City Link. Employees were denied a reasonable notice period in which to seek alternative employment and instead, at a time of financial uncertainty, have to pursue a court claim for lack of consultation if they wish to be compensated. While there were differences of opinion as to whether or not City Link could be made viable, and the desired level of return could be achieved, the Committees regret that Better Capital felt its investors' interests could only be protected at the expense of the future of City Link and continued employment for its workers