The repatriation of competences: implications for devolution

联合王国的权力下放解决方案已纳入英国的欧洲联盟成员国身份。农业、环境、渔业、区域发展、司法和内政等政策领域既是权力下放议会的事务，也是属于欧盟权力范围的领域。在这些政策领域，欧盟提供了一个共同框架，限制了英国内部和整个国家之间出现的差异程度，这有助于将英国各国团结在一起。无论谈判后达成哪种模式，英国退出欧盟都将以复杂的方式影响被下放国家的权力。这可能会导致权力进一步下放给被下放的机构。或者，它可能导致权力在全英国机构内重新集中。第三种可能性是，它可以看到建立新的论坛和程序，使联合王国政府和权力下放的政府能够在其权力重叠的政策领域进行更密切的合作。谈判的结果以及关键参与者做出的决定，将对权力下放国家机构的权力和责任，以及它们与英国其他地区的关系产生影响。该项目将在英国脱欧谈判进行之际对这些事态发展进行研究，并研究结果将如何影响权力下放和英国四国政府之间的关系。我们将研究和支持议会在审查英国退欧谈判进程和结果方面的作用。我们将与公务员会面，帮助他们了解不同的英国退欧选项对苏格兰、北爱尔兰和威尔士权力下放的影响。我们的项目将聚焦于下放政策的三个特定领域--农业、环境和司法以及内政--以调查在英国退欧后将权力从欧盟带回英国的特殊后果。我们将与这些领域的专业人士和代表合作，帮助他们在不同情景下为英国退欧做好准备和规划。我们还将通过编写易于阅读和获取的解释、分析和报告，并利用媒体发表评论的机会，增进对这一进程、结果及其对权力下放的影响的更广泛了解。

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.