HOLYROOD ministers are to urge their Westminster counterparts to abandon a Brexit power grab.
First Secretary of State Damian Green and Scottish Secretary David Mundell will travel to Edinburgh today for talks with Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Brexit Minister Michael Russell.
The summit is part of ongoing discussions about transferring further powers to the Scottish Government after Brexit concludes.
The UK Government wants all devolved powers currently exercised at an EU level and returning from Brussels to bypass Holyrood and go directly to Westminster.
It argues these could be released at a later date.
However, the Scottish and Welsh governments have previously accused the UK Government of attempting to orchestrate a “power grab” and insisted they will not support the Repeal Bill in its current state.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Russell said current plans would be a “fundamental attack on the principles of devolution”.
He said: “The UK Government is pursuing an extreme Brexit which will damage jobs and the economy by forcing us out of the world’s biggest marketplace.
“We are urging them to change course and stay inside the European Single Market.
“It is essential that they also change the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which represents a fundamental attack on the principles of devolution.
“The bill – as it currently stands – means that Westminster would take exclusive control over significant areas of devolved policy, such as support for Scotland’s farmers and food producers and many aspects of environmental protection and control of our seas.
“We know that the UK Government has its eye on more than 100 policy areas. That is a direct threat to the devolution settlement which the people of Scotland overwhelmingly voted for in 1997.
“Today we will make clear that changes must be made to protect devolution.
“All devolved powers currently carried out at an EU level must come back to the Scottish Parliament.”
He went on: “We are not opposed in principle to UK-wide frameworks in certain areas, but this must be on the basis of agreement among equals, not imposed by Westminster.
“There is currently no sign of any of the new powers we were told during the EU referendum would be coming to Scotland, such as over immigration.
“Instead we have an attempted power grab which must be abandoned.”
However, Green said his government has shown “commitment to progressing discussions”.
He continued: “We want a positive and open dialogue with the Scottish Government to ensure that no new barriers emerge for people living and doing business in the UK. In some areas there will need to be a common approach.
“There will be other areas where I intend that the Scottish and UK governments can make progress in identifying policy areas that could be released to Holyrood under the new legislative arrangements.
“We expect there will be a significant increase in the decision-making power of each devolved administration and we want to address this in a way which delivers certainty and continuity for people and businesses across the UK.
“I am looking forward to serious, constructive talks with the Scottish Government on this vital matter.”
Meanwhile, the Bank of England’s financial regulator has warned it may have to take its eye off other areas as it faces a “material extra burden” from Brexit planning.
Chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) Sam Woods said while the watchdog was having to make work on Brexit its “top priority”, this would place a significant strain on its resources. In a response to a letter from the new Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan, he said the PRA would likely have to make some tough decisions.
The warning comes after Morgan called on Woods to reveal how City firms are preparing for a cliff-edge Brexit and whether those plans pose a threat to financial stability. In his reply, Woods said the threat of fallout across the City from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU poses a “material risk to our objectives and this work is therefore a top priority”.
Morgan said the Treasury Select Committee would keep a close eye on the PRA’s resources burden from Brexit, stating: “The UK leaving the European Union is a complex task.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel