Institutional arrangements - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 161

As explained previously the promise of devolving many erstwhile functions of
Central Government was an important feature of the New Labour manifesto. The
terminology employed in this can be confusing. From a UK perspective all such
devolution can be considered 'regional' but the Scottish Parliament and Welsh
Assembly are 'national' institutions in the countries concerned. (Further disparities
arise as a result - what are referred to as 'regional' planning arrangements in Scotland
and Wales would be termed 'sub-regional' in England - see 17.4.)
With the creation of the elected Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly the
functions of their former Secretaries of State were transferred to the new bodies. Each
has a 'First Minister' and a Cabinet of departmental heads drawn from the ruling party
or coalition. Having been elected by proportional representation the first Scottish
administration was formed by a coalition of Labour and Liberal Democrats, but with
the Scottish Nationalists assuming control in 2007. Labour remains the controlling
party in Wales.
Traditionally legislation passed by the UK Government often included separate
clauses relating to Scotland or Wales and this facility remains in matters which it
has reserved for its jurisdiction. In domestic transport matters however the Scottish
Parliament has powers to introduce its own primary legislation - the first example
being the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001, a version of the Transport Act 2000.
Initially at least, the Scottish Government appeared willing to go along with the
legislative framework and general policy direction being set in Westminster, not least
because New Labour was the dominant party in both places. Certainly devolution
can be considered a mixed blessing politically in such a situation since any significant
departure by the devolved administration will be seized on by Government's opponents
as evidence of a policy 'split' (Smyth 2003). Arguably the lead taken subsequently
by the Scottish Parliament on a 'national' concessionary fares scheme pushed the
Westminster Government more quickly in this direction than it might otherwise have
done (15.7) whilst, in a broader context, the Scottish decision not to charge university
tuition fees has been a source of continuing embarrassment south of the border.
Both the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly have powers of secondary
legislation, that is the detailing of measures allowed for within the terms of the primary
Act, the framing of regulations, the issuing of policy guidance and so on. Differences of
substance are emerging in these more detailed administrative areas and in the policies
being applied to expenditure programmes. Overall funding continues to take the form
of a block grant from the UK Government (which retains national tax revenues)
although the Scottish Parliament has the discretion to increase this by levying up to 3p
on top of the basic rate of income tax.
In England, aside from devolution in London, regional representation was
strengthened by the creation in 1999 of regional assemblies and regional development
agencies (RDAs). These are established for the same areas as the provincial Government
Office regions although some of the RDAs have used distinctive branding names (e.g.
Advantage West Midlands, Yorkshire Forward and One North East). However unlike
in London (where policy control of its RDA was formally assigned to the elected
Mayor) the position of the provincial RDAs is more ambiguous. Formally they owe their
allegiance and sponsorship to Central Government although their economic strategies
have to be approved by the relevant Regional Assembly. In itself this is problematic
since Assemblies are unlikely to mount a significant challenge to strategies geared
to securing funds for their region from Central Government. Differences in style as
well as substance however tend to characterise the activities of the two bodies. RDAs