Commission on Scottish Devolution

The Commission on Scottish Devolution (Scottish Gaelic: Coimisean Fèin-riaghlaidh na h-Alba; Scots: Commeessioun on Scots Devolutioun), also referred to as the Calman Commission or the Scottish Parliament Commission[1] or Review,[2] was established by an opposition Labour Party motion passed by the Scottish Parliament on 6 December 2007, with the support of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.[3] The governing Scottish National Party opposed the creation of the commission.

Its terms of reference were: "To review the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998 in the light of experience and to recommend any changes to the present constitutional arrangements that would enable the Scottish Parliament to serve the people of Scotland better, improve the financial accountability of the Scottish Parliament and continue to secure the position of Scotland within the United Kingdom."[1]

The Commission held its first full meeting at the Scottish Parliament on 28 April 2008[4] and met at roughly monthly intervals[5] during its period of work.

It issued a first report on 2 December 2008, and a final report on 15 June 2009. It was accountable to both the Scottish Parliament and the UK Government.

The Commission on Scottish Devolution should not be confused with the Scottish Constitutional Commission, which is an independent think-tank.

Calman Plus (also called devolution plus, Devo Plus or Devo 2.0)[6] has been advocated by senior Scottish Liberal Democrat politicians,[7][8] as the next step in deepening devolution. Calman Plus should not be confused with full fiscal autonomy, although neither concept has been definitively defined.

  1. ^ a b "holyrood.com - The Business of Politics - Pro union devolution review launched". Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  2. ^ Glasgow University chancellor to chair Scottish parliament review – The Daily Record
  3. ^ "Official Report - Meeting of the Parliament: 06/12/2008". Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  4. ^ Peev, Gerri (28 April 2008). "Big Brother winner joins the Constitutional Commission team". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
  5. ^ Commission on Scottish Devolution - Minutes of 1st Meeting[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Reform Scotland group to look at 'devolution plus'". BBC News Scotland. 26 November 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  7. ^ "Support for 'Calman Plus'". The Scotsman. 29 May 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Moore said he will not consider any major extension to the Calman proposals. He insisted he took the same view as Scott and he wanted to see 'Calman Plus' – but his version of 'Calman Plus' is Calman with any minor adjustments which might make it work better". The Scotsman. 5 June 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2011.