Scots win 'French' devolution

FRENCH-STYLE government offices are to be set up around Scotland in an initiative likely to be extended south of the border.

The plan is part of the Government's 'stock-taking' of the constitutional position in Scotland, results of which will be announced by Ian Lang, Secretary of State for Scotland, on Tuesday.

More than 40 offices or mini- prefectures will be established, covering all the large cities and towns in Scotland. Civil servants from the Scottish Office in Edinburgh will be redeployed to make them accessible to the public.

Although regional Scottish Office staff will not have the wide powers enjoyed by prefects in France, they will be able to offer advice to the public and provide a local forum for complaints.

The measures, approved at Thursday's Cabinet meeting, fall well short of expectations raised by the stock-taking exercise, which followed a campaign for a Scottish parliament. Senior Scottish Office sources argue, however, that it is impossible to talk of devolution without first devolving power from the Scottish Office to the Scottish people.

Mr Lang's proposals have been discussed with William Waldegrave, Secretary of State at the Office of Public Service and Science, who is responsible for making the Civil Service in England more accessible. Senior Tories believe that the plan could be extended to the rest of Britain.

The Scottish Office has a wide range of responsibilities, which will be easy to represent in devolved offices. Such a pattern is more difficult in England, where responsibilities are divided between departments such as Environment, Health and Education.

However, Mr Waldegrave is examining plans to combine all the regional offices operated by Whitehall departments and the Central Office of Information, to create a network of government 'one-stop shops'. In Wales, the Scottish model could be copied.

Mr Lang's measures will include an enhanced role for the Scottish Grand Committee, which is made up of all 72 Scottish MPs. The committee will meet more often in Edinburgh and will probably hold Scottish Questions and adjournment debates, and deal with oral statements and uncontroversial Bills.

The Scottish Office will assume responsibility for employment measures north of the border, but the Department of Employment will continue to lay down policy. Some energy-related Civil Service jobs will be transferred from London to Aberdeen.

Ministers will be at pains this week to stress that the measures will supplement Westminster's activities, not replace them.

But even these limited initiatives have caused controversy within a Tory government committed to the Union. Some Tory backbenchers argue that Scotland is over-represented at Westminster and that any new initiative should accompany a reduced role for Scottish MPs at Westminster.

The Northern Ireland Office has argued that the principle of creating an assembly with a high profile but no decision-making powers contradicts its peace process. Yesterday, the Scottish National Party leader, Alex Salmond, said that John Major's 'stock-taking' plans for Scotland would prove a damp squib. He challenged Mr Lang to a public debate on the reforms.