Lord Pattenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether electors in England experience a democratic deficit compared with those in Scotland, when there is no English Parliament. [HL928]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Lord Filkin)No. Following devolution, the UK Parliament remains sovereign for the whole of the UK although it has delegated some of its authority to the Scottish Parliament. Devolution in respect of Scotland represents the settled will of the Scottish electorate. The Government's policy for establishing elected assemblies in those English regions that want them have been set out in the White PaperYour Region, Your Choice, published in May 2002. The Deputy Prime Minister announced in June 2003 that the north-east; north-west; and Yorkshire and the Humber regions will be the first regions to progress towards a referendum for an elected assembly.