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Queen’s Speech

My Lords, despite the final comment of the noble Lord, Lord Grocott, I agree with the primary points that he made in the first half of his speech. It was a pleasure to hear those points so effectively and clearly made. I shall observe a self-denying ordinance and simply make one point on a matter that has not yet been touched on. It may be thought not to be important but it is worth considering and could find a place in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill if the Government so wished. My point arises from the case of Mr Al Megrahi, the gentleman who was released by the Scottish Administration and enabled to return to Libya. In referring to this case, I shall leave aside most of the factual matters; I shall not discuss the gentleman’s state of health and I shall not speculate as to what the Government’s role in this matter was. For the purpose of these observations, I shall assume that the Government’s position was as stated—that it was a matter for the Scottish Administration and that Her Majesty’s Government could do nothing about it. When the problem arose, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Morris of Aberavon, made the point that this was not simply a matter of the release of a prisoner in Scotland; as he said, it had a considerable impact on foreign affairs and the position of the United Kingdom and Scotland in the eyes of other people in the world. Foreign affairs, of course, are not a devolved matter. We need to consider this issue. It is quite common to find issues that relate not just to one thing only. This is not dealt with effectively in any of the devolution arrangements—whether for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. We need to bring about some form of co-determination between the devolved Administrations and Her Majesty’s Government on matters that impact on issues of national importance. I shall not speculate on what form that co-determination should take, but it would probably be sufficient if, for example, there was a power for Her Majesty’s Government to require a devolved Administration to consult them when dealing with an issue that is considered to be of major national importance to security or foreign affairs. If it is a matter of consultation, Her Majesty’s Government have sufficient influence with regard to the financial position and the power of this place to legislate over the head of the devolved Administration to ensure that the Administration takes account of their views. In a situation of considerable importance to the standing of this country, which could cut across the Government’s foreign policy, it would be undesirable to again find the Government placed in a position where they are reduced to saying, "We can do nothing about this; we have no power on the matter". That position was greeted with ridicule in some foreign quarters. It needs to be changed. Such a situation could arise with any of the devolved Administrations in the future. It is potentially of importance and I want to draw attention to it and underline the need for some action.