Two cheers for Holyrood: Devolution and dimensions of fiscal accountability

Claims that there was a lack of accountability had been part of the backdrop to campaigns for a Scottish Parliament. Accountability had been one of the four principles that informed the Consultative Steering Group, set up by the UK Government to draw up procedures and working practices for the Scottish Parliament. After a discussion of different types of accountability, the paper considers the extent to which greater accountability has been achieved with particular reference to fiscal matters. It does so by considering the situation that prevailed before devolution and in the period from 1999–2016 then the period since 2016, the last involved greater fiscal responsibility. It maintains that whilst there has been greater fiscal accountability, there remain weaknesses in the system of governance. Using primary data, including archival sources, interviews with key participants, as well as public papers, we argue that vertical accountability has improved significantly with devolution but are more equivocal about horizontal accountability and that diagonal accountability has been only partially improved though largely due to developments beyond the competence of devolved institutions.