Scotland will be given a “strong and lasting constitutional settlement” through the UK Government’s plans for further devolution, the Queen has said.
However, David Cameron will bid to strip Scottish MPs of the power to have any say on laws which affect only England and Wales.
The Queen announced the Conservative majority’s legislative plans, the first set unveiled in almost two decades, at the state opening of the Houses of Parliament.
The Scottish Parliament will receive new powers to raise 40% of taxes and decide about 60% of public spending
She said: “My government will also bring forward legislation to secure a strong and lasting constitutional settlement, devolving wide-ranging powers to Scotland and Wales.”
Proposals on English votes for English laws were also included, which says decisions which don’t affect Scotland because of the devolution settlement “can only be taken with the consent of the majority of MPs representing constituencies in England, or in England and Wales.”
Also included was the confirmation of an EU Referendum Bill, which would see a vote taken before the end of 2017, measures to ban rises in income tax, VAT or national insurance over the next five years, a legal requirement for anyone working 30 hours a week or less on the minimum wage to be taken out of income tax altogether and a cut on a household’s benefit payments from £26,000 to £23,000.
However, the Prime Minister ducked potential confrontation with senior backbenchers by omitting legislation to scrap the Human Rights Act (HRA).
Instead, the Government will bring forward proposals for a British Bill of Rights to replace the HRA, with legislation expected following consultation later in the Parliament.