Legal academic calls for reform of inter-governmental machinery

A Conservative election candidate and legal academic has called for a new UK government department for the constitution.

In a paper for Reform Scotland, Adam Tomkins, John Millar professor of public law at the University of Glasgow, argues for reform of the UK’s power sharing administration.

Professor Tomkins, who also tops the Scottish Conservative regional list for Glasgow, argues that new shared powers over tax and welfare devolved to Holyrood necessitates a change, saying the UK’s intergovernmental agreement is “dominated” by the UK government.

Commenting on the advent of shared powers, he writes: “What the United Kingdom needs to do now is to reconceive of the way its four governments interact (in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast) and, in particular, how they share power.”

Professor Tomkins makes four criticisms of the UK’s intergovernmental machinery, gleaned from a decade’s worth of reports by numerous parliamentary committees: that it lacks formality; is dominated by the UK government; lacks “an independent and robust process for dispute resolution” and “lacks transparency”.

He recommends reform should be “underpinned by statute”, adding: “The Joint Ministerial Committee should meet in plenary session in each of the United Kingdom’s capitals in turn, and not always in London.”

Other recommendations include the creation of an “independent dispute-resolution procedure” and joint meetings of parliaments and assemblies to examine how the UK’s inter-governmental machinery is faring.

A UK government spokeswoman said: “The secretaries of state for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recently made clear in evidence before the House of Commons’ Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee the need for separate territorial offices.

“They provide strong and effective voices for the nations of the UK.”