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Question

Difficulty: HardThe Concept of Devolution and Reserved Powers

Under the UK's constitutional arrangements for devolution, the UK Parliament at Westminster retains authority over 'reserved matters' while transferring other responsibilities to devolved administrations. Which of the following groups consists entirely of policy areas that are reserved to the UK Parliament?

  1. Defence, foreign affairs, and immigrationAnswer
  2. B
    Health services, education, and taxation
  3. C
    The justice system, policing, and immigration
  4. D
    Agriculture, environmental policy, and national defence

Answer

The correct answer is the group containing defence, foreign affairs, and immigration.
The group containing defence, foreign affairs, and immigration is correct because these are major policy areas that affect the United Kingdom as a whole and remain the responsibility of the UK Parliament at Westminster. These areas are not transferred to the devolved administrations.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the meaning of 'reserved powers' in the UK context.
Reserved powers are policy areas where the UK Parliament in Westminster retains the sole authority to legislate for the entire country.
Devolution only transfers specific 'devolved' powers to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
2
Evaluate each policy area in the proposed groups against the official list of reserved matters.
Defence, foreign affairs, immigration, and taxation are identified as reserved, whereas health, education, and agriculture are identified as devolved.
This distinction prevents the UK Parliament from legislating on domestic matters that have been transferred to local administrations.
3
Check for nuances regarding the justice system and policing.
The justice system and policing are devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland, meaning they are not 'reserved' for the whole UK.
Scotland has a separate legal system, which is a key feature of its devolved settlement.

Key Concept

The distinction between reserved and devolved powers

Practice More

Review the specific differences between the powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament versus those devolved to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament).
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

The Concept of Devolution and Reserved Powers