17.1.1 Devolution of UK governmental powers

The Scotland Act received Royal Assent on 19 November 1998 and the Scottish Parliament sat for the first time on 6 May 1999 (White and Yonwin,

2004). This act transferred powers for specific issues to the Scottish govern­ment and reserved powers with the UK government for the remainder. The devolution of powers to the Scottish government for specific issues and not others has an influence on the areas of nuclear power, RAW management and the environment.

Among the reserved powers, the UK government controls energy, which includes electricity and nuclear energy, and also defence and national secu­rity. Among the devolved powers, the Scottish Parliament has health, plan­ning and the environment. This means that nuclear installations in Scotland are subject to legislation in specific areas from the UK government and in other areas from the Scottish government. They are regulated by some agencies which report to the UK government and by others that report to the Scottish government.