The Smith Commission

The Smith Commission is looking for submissions from ordinary members of the public for ideas on the new powers for Scotland in the wake of the referendum.  Anyone can send in their ideas to haveyoursay@smith-commission.scot and I think it's important that as many people as possible send in their thoughts and ideas.

I sent my views this morning.  This is what I said:

As a Yes voter, I am in favour of independence.  I think that decisions affecting the people of Scotland are best decided by the Scottish government, as it is more likely to have an understanding of local Scottish issues. 

However, as this is not currently an option, my favoured option would be for DevoMax, ie Scotland retains all revenues raised in Scotland and pays Westminster for agreed common services such as foreign affairs and defence.  I would say, however, that in the case of common services, there should be Service Level Agreements attached to the payment schedule, for example, agreed response times by the defence forces to any reports of incidents by the Scottish Government.

I would also suggest that there should be a UK level common fund, to be run by representatives of all four home nations.  This committee would consider applications for assistance, whether for deprived areas or for special projects, on a case-by-case basis and award funds accordingly.

 The deadline for submissions is October 31st, so there is still time for you to let them know your views. Do it!