News / SIC devo submission
SHETLAND Islands Council has called for the Smith Commission on devolution in Scotland to ensure more powers are passed on to local authorities, including more say in local fisheries management and an income from the offshore oil and gas industry.
In its four page submission to the Commission, the SIC says it expects the principles of “localism and subsidiarity” to be applied in their fullest sense, by transferring powers as much as possible to councils.
The submission also calls for:
• all powers and responsibilities of the Crown Estate over he local seabed and foreshore to be transferred to local control;
• the Scottish Parliament to become the lead representative for all aspects of the European common fisheries policy;
• the SIC or any appropriate fishing industry organisation to be consulted before any new rules of fisheries management are implemented;
• transfer control and income from the North Sea and Atlantic Margin oil provinces to Scotland, while addressing the risks and burdens their exploitation places on Shetland;
• give Shetland a meaningful role in the management of oil and gas fields, including a share of the income and environmental safeguards, regardless of whether control of the industry is devolved to Scotland;
• a statutory obligation on the government to meet the costs of a pollution incident;
• local communities to benefit financially from any onshore or offshore developments, such as renewable energy;
• the Scottish government to be able to vary taxes to reflect island circumstances.
SIC leader Gary Robinson said the local submission had endeavoured to complement the other two submissions rather than replicate them.
Robinson said it was critical that any devolution to Holyrood led to “further devolution down to local government and beyond”.
He added that the commission would have to recognise the challenges and opportunities this would present.
Lord Smith who is leading the commission report into further devolution attended last Friday’s meeting of COSLA and said he was well aware of the Our Islands Our Future campaign, which Robinson described as “heartening”.
The full SIC submission can be read here.
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