A legislative consent motion (LCM, also known as a Sewel motion in Scotland) is a

motion In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an o ...

passed by either the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

Senedd The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

, or

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

, in which it consents that the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

may (or may not) pass

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

on a devolved issue over which the devolved government has regular legislative authority. , the three devolved governments have refused or partially refused legislative consent motions on 20 occasions. However, even if consent is refused, the Parliament of the United Kingdom may still pass legislation on the devolved issue in question under the doctrine of

parliamentary sovereignty Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over al ...

and the understanding that the United Kingdom is a

unitary state A unitary state is a (Sovereign state, sovereign) State (polity), state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create or abolish administrative divisions (sub-national or ...

Background

The

Scotland Act 1998 The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...

devolved many issues relating to legislation for Scotland to the Scottish Parliament. The

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

maintains

and may legislate on any issue, with or without the permission of the devolved assemblies and parliaments. The motions were named after Lord Sewel, then Parliamentary

Under-Secretary of State for Scotland The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland is a junior ministerial post (of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State rank) in the Government of the United Kingdom, supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland. The post is also kn ...

who announced the policy in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

during the passage of the Scotland Act 1998. Noting that the Act recognised the parliamentary sovereignty of the British Parliament, he said that HM Government "would expect a convention to be established that Westminster would not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament". The devolved governments have no formal say in how the British Parliament legislates on reserved matters.

Use and application

There are two uses for a legislative consent motion, taking Scotland as the example: # When the UK Parliament is considering legislation extending only (or having provisions extending only) to

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, and the Scottish Parliament, being in agreement with those provisions, wishes for the UK Parliament to extend them to Scotland. This saves the need for separate, similar legislation to be passed by the Scottish Parliament. # When Westminster is considering legislation applying to Scotland but which relates to both devolved and reserved matters, where it would otherwise be necessary for the Scottish Parliament to legislate to complete the jigsaw. As well as legislation about devolved matters, the convention extends to cases where UK bills give executive powers to Scottish Ministers, including in reserved areas, or which seek to change the boundary between reserved and devolved matters. Guidance on the use of legislative consent motions for

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

departments is set out in ''Devolution Guidance Note 10''. Chapter 9B of the Scottish Parliament's Standing Orders specify the procedure for considering Sewel motions.

Legal status

The convention under which the UK government uses legislative consent motions is not legally binding. It was originally contained in a "memorandum of understanding" between the UK government and the devolved administrations. That document states in an explanatory note that it is not intended to be legally binding, and the paragraph dealing with the convention makes clear that the UK Parliament retains authority to legislate on any issue, whether devolved or not. Since then, however, the convention has been incorporated into law in both Scotland and Wales. However, despite this inclusion, the statements are not legally binding on the

Scotland Act 2016

In 2016 the UK Parliament passed the

Scotland Act 2016 The Scotland Act 2016 (c. 11) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 and devolves further powers to Scotland. The legislation is based on recommendations given by the report of the Smi ...

which amended the

to contain an explicit and specific legal reference to the so-called Sewel convention. Section 2 of the 2016 Act reads as follows:

Wales Act 2017

In 2017 the UK Parliament passed the

Wales Act 2017 The Wales Act 2017 (c. 7) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out amendments to the Government of Wales Act 2006 and devolves further powers to Wales. The legislation is based on the proposals of the St David's Day Comma ...

which amended the

Government of Wales Act 2006 The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system ...

to contain an explicit and specific legal reference to Westminster legislation on matters that are devolved to the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

. Section 2 of the 2017 Act reads as follows:

Current situation and review

In 2005 the Procedures Committee undertook an inquiry into the use of Sewel motions, and heard evidence from Lord Sewel,

Henry McLeish Henry Baird McLeish (born 15 June 1948) is a Scottish politician, author, academic and former professional footballer who served as first minister of Scotland from 2000 to 2001. With a term of 1 year, 12 days, he is the shortest serving holder ...

(the former

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...

), and Anne McGuire, MP (the Parliamentary

). Following the review, the motions were retitled legislative consent motions and the procedures enshrined in the parliament's standing orders. , 131 legislative consent motions had been passed by the Scottish Parliament, 39 in the first session (1999–2003), 38 in the second (2003–2007), 30 in the third (2007–11) and 24 so far in the fourth (2011–16). In December 2022, the Labour Party announced proposals to strengthen the Sewel convention such that it becomes "constitutionally protected", as part of a report on constitutional reform led by former Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

List of refused legislative consent motions

{, class="wikitable" , + !Date !Devolved body !Legislation !Votes for !Votes against !Subsequent actions , - , 8 February 2011 ,

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (c. 13) is an Act of Parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It transfers the control of police forces from police authorities to elected Police and Crime Commissioners. The Eng ...

, , , Membership of police and crime panels in Wales was changed to be upon the appointment of the Home Secretary. , - , 22 December 2011 ,

Welfare Reform Act 2012 The Welfare Reform Act 2012 is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which makes changes to the rules concerning a number of benefits offered within the Welfare state in the United Kingdom, British ...

, , , Scottish ministers were given competency in administering the new

Universal Credit Universal Credit is a United Kingdom based Welfare state in the United Kingdom, social security payment. It is Means test, means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits, for working-age households with a low income: income-related Emp ...

and

Personal Independence Payment Personal Independence Payment (abbreviated to PIP and usually pronounced as one word) is a welfare benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help working-aged people 16 and over with the extra costs of living with a health condition or a ...

benefits. , - , 29 January 2013 , National Assembly for Wales ,

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (c. 24), also known as ERRA, is a major act of Parliament aimed at reforming the regulatory environment faced by small and medium-sized business. It established a UK Green Investment Bank (part 1), ...

, , , The Welsh Assembly subsequently passed its own legislation, the Agriculture Sector (Wales) Act 2013, which was referred to the

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC) is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the United Kingdom and all criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as some limited criminal cases ...

, who found that the Acts dealt with devolved competencies. , - , 12 November 2013 , National Assembly for Wales ,

Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (c. 2) is a United Kingdom act of Parliament. Its main provisions: *abolish the Audit Commission and repeal the Audit Commission Act 1998 (section 1) *establish new arrangements for the audit and acc ...

, , , Cross-border

internal drainage board An internal drainage board (IDB) is a type of operating authority which is established in areas of special drainage need in England and Wales with permissive powers to undertake work to secure clean water drainage and water level management wit ...

s, which almost entirely operated in Wales, were exempted from the auditing scheme in England. , - , 26 November 2013 , National Assembly for Wales , Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 , , , The UK Government maintained that the change in devolved competencies due to the abolition and replacement of anti-social behaviour orders was consequential and did not require consent, but in light of the refusal of legislative competence, the exception for the replacement orders was to be "interpreted narrowly". , - , 3 February 2015 , National Assembly for Wales , Medical Innovations Bill 2014–2015 , , , Bill did not pass the House of Commons due to Parliament being prorogued ahead of the 2015 general election. , - , 7 December 2015 ,

, Enterprise Act 2016 , , , Cap on public sector exit payments was not applied to Northern Ireland. , - , 26 January 2016 , National Assembly for Wales , Trade Union Act 2016 , , , The Welsh Assembly subsequently passed its own legislation, the Trade Union (Wales) Act 2017, to disapply the provisions to which the Assembly disagreed. The UK Government did not refer it to the Supreme Court, but later announced plans to repeal this law, seeing

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

as a reserved matter. The Scottish Government had likewise tried to introduce a legislative consent motion, but the Presiding Officer ruled the bill related only to reserved matters. , - , 15 March 2016 , National Assembly for Wales ,

Housing and Planning Act 2016 The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22) is Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that makes widespread changes to housing policy and the planning system. It introduces legislation to allow the sale of higher value local authority homes, intr ...

, , , Changes to

compulsory purchase order A compulsory purchase order (CPO; , ) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and Ireland that allows certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for ...

s were removed from the bill. , - , 15 May 2018 , Scottish Parliament ,

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to repeal the European Communities Act 1972, and for parliamentary approval to be required for any withdrawal agreement negotiated between th ...

, , , Enacted by UK Parliament without change. , - , 7 October 2020 , Scottish Parliament , United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 , , , Enacted by UK Parliament without change. , - , 30 December 2020 , Scottish Parliament , European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 , , , Enacted by UK Parliament without change. , - , 15 February 2022 , Senedd , rowspan=2, Nationality and Borders Act 2022 , , , rowspan=2, Enacted by UK Parliament without change. , - , 22 February 2022 , Scottish Parliament , , , - , 29 June 2022 , Scottish Parliament , rowspan=2, Northern Ireland Protocol Bill , , , rowspan=2, Bill allowed to lapse at the end of the session. , - , 22 November 2022 , Senedd , , , - , 17 January 2023 , Senedd , rowspan=2, Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act , , , rowspan=2, Enacted by UK Parliament without change. , - , 23 January 2023 , Scottish Parliament , , , - , 31 January 2023 , Senedd , rowspan=2, Trade (Australia and New Zealand) Act 2023 , , , rowspan=2, Enacted by UK Parliament without change. , - , 23 January 2023 , Scottish Parliament , , , - , 6 June 2023 , Senedd , rowspan=2, Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 , , , rowspan=2, Enacted by UK Parliament without change. , - , 8 June 2023 , Scottish Parliament , , , - , 26 June 2023 , Scottish Parliament , Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill , , , Enacted by UK Parliament without change. , - , 20 March 2024 , Scottish Parliament , Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill , , , Bill not passed in wash-up period.{{cite web , title=The Economic Activity of Public Bodies Bill has been dropped - a welcome side effect of the calling of the General Election? , url=https://www.burges-salmon.com/articles/102j9ul/the-economic-activity-of-public-bodies-bill-has-been-dropped-a-welcome-side-eff/ , website=Burges Salmon , access-date=28 April 2025

References

External links

Devolution Guidance Note 10 (pdf).

Chapter 9b of the Scottish Parliament's standing orders

Scottish Government information on Sewel convention.

* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/opensecrets/2009/11/devolution_tensions_exposed.html BBC Open Secrets blog – Devolution tensions exposedbr>Cowie, Graham. 2018. Brexit: Devolution and legislative consent. House of Commons Library.
Government of Scotland Scottish Parliament Constitutional conventions of the United Kingdom