The repatriation of competences: implications for devolution

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The devolution settlements in the United Kingdom have been embedded in UK membership of the European Union. Policy areas like agriculture, the environment, fisheries, regional development and justice and home affairs, are both matters for the devolved parliaments and also areas that fall under the authority of the EU. In these policy fields, the EU has provided a common framework that has limited the degree of difference that has emerged within and across the UK, and this has helped keep the nations of the UK together. Whichever model is reached after negotiations, the UK's withdrawal from the EU will affect the powers of the devolved nations in complex ways. It may lead to further decentralisation of power to the devolved institutions. Alternatively, it could lead to powers being recentralized within UK-wide institutions. A third possibility is that it could see the setting up of new forums and process to enable the UK Government and the devolved governments to cooperate more closely on policy areas where their powers overlap. The outcome of the negotiations, and the decisions taken by key actors, will have consequences for the powers and responsibilities of institutions in the devolved nations and their relationships with the rest of the UK. This project will carry out a study of these developments as the Brexit negotiations get underway, and we will examine how the outcomes will shape devolution and relations between the UK's four governments. We will study and support the role of parliaments in scrutinizing the Brexit negotiation processes and the outcomes. We will meet with civil servants to help them understand the effects of different Brexit options on devolution in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Our project will focus on three particular areas of devolved policy - agriculture, the environment and justice and home affairs - to investigate the particular consequences of bringing powers back from the EU to the UK after Brexit. We will work with professionals and representatives from these sectors to help them prepare and plan for Brexit under different scenarios. We will also enhance broader understanding of the process, outcomes and their impact on devolution by producing easy to read and easy to access explanations, analyses and reports, and by taking up opportunities for commenting in the media.