Calman says more power will bring more risk

THE chairman of the body that paved the way for enhanced powers for Holyrood through the Scotland Bill has warned that handing full fiscal responsibilities to the Scottish Government would be a “very big risk”.

Sir Kenneth Calman said that extra powers such as corporation tax control for the Scottish parliament would lead to complexity.

Speaking during a bad-tempered exchange with nationalist MSPs at a Holyrood committee yesterday, he also defended the work of his commission such as the recommendation to allow Holyrood to vary tax rates by 10p – a move he said would lead to “significant” revenue for the Scottish Government.

Sir Kenneth, who was repeatedly challenged over his package of reforms by SNP members of the Scotland Bill committee, later said that allowing Holyrood to set corporation tax could mean the rates could “go down or up”.

The concerns were backed by Iain McMillan, the director of CBI Scotland, who issued a stark warning that there would be an “ever present risk” of higher rates north of the Border if corporation tax powers were taken away from Westminster.

However, the SNP’s Stewart Maxwell said that other “independent nations seem to manage well” with full financial powers as he challenged Sir Kenneth’s evidence.