Reserved vs devolved powers
The nutshell
Devolved powers are run by the parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These cover things like health and schools. Reserved powers, like defence, stay with the UK Parliament in London for the whole UK.
Every fact on this page comes from official rules and non-partisan explainers. Each source tag — like Parl — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
What "devolved" and "reserved" mean
The UK has one big parliament at Westminster, in London. It has also handed some powers to three smaller parliaments. These are the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd (the Welsh Parliament) and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Powers handed down like this are called devolved powers. Powers kept by the UK Parliament for the whole country are called reserved powers.Parl
What each side looks after
Devolved powers cover many everyday things, like health, schools, housing and transport. Reserved powers cover things that affect the whole UK, like defence, dealing with other countries and who can move to the UK.Parl The exact list is not the same in each nation, so Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have slightly different powers.HoC
The reserved powers model
Most of the settlement works by listing what stays reserved, not what is devolved. Anything not on the reserved list is then assumed to be devolved. The House of Commons Library calls this the reserved powers model. The Wales Act 2017 put the Senedd on the same footing as the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.HoC
Who still has the final say
Devolution did not take these powers away from the UK Parliament for good. The UK Parliament can still make laws for any part of the UK, even in devolved areas. By a rule called the Sewel convention, it does not normally do so without the agreement of the devolved parliament, the Institute for Government says.IfG
- Everything not written down as reserved is assumed to be devolved, under what is called the reserved powers model, the House of Commons Library records
- The UK Parliament can still make laws for the whole UK, including in devolved areas, but does not normally do so without agreement, the Institute for Government notes
- Some powers are split, so a single subject can be partly reserved and partly devolved, according to GOV.UK
- Devolution is not identical across the UK, because Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have a different list of powers, the House of Commons Library records
- England has no devolved parliament of its own, so the UK Parliament makes its laws in devolved areas like health, according to GOV.UK
- Devolved does not mean fully separate, because reserved powers like defence and foreign affairs stay with the UK Parliament for the whole UK, the UK Parliament glossary explains
The deep end6 min
The three settlements, and how each differs
The UK does not have one single devolution deal. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each got a different settlement, built up over time by separate laws. The Scottish Parliament, the Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly now make laws in many devolved areas, such as health, education, housing, the environment and local government.Parl Some reserved matters are common to all three, including the Crown, defence and foreign affairs. Others differ. Income tax, for example, is reserved in Northern Ireland but devolved to varying degrees in Scotland and Wales, the House of Commons Library records.HoC
How the reserved powers model works
For Scotland and Wales, the law does not spell out what is devolved. Instead it lists what is reserved to the UK Parliament, and the devolved legislatures hold power over everything else, according to GOV.UK.GOV Some areas are split, so a single subject can be partly reserved and partly devolved. The Wales Act 2017 moved the Senedd onto this model, joining the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly, the House of Commons Library records.HoC
England, and where the final say sits
England has no devolved parliament of its own. For England, the UK Parliament acts as the law-maker in areas that are devolved elsewhere, such as health and schools.GOV Devolution also did not change parliamentary sovereignty, which means the UK Parliament remains the supreme law-maker. The Institute for Government notes that the UK Parliament can legislate for all parts of the UK, including in devolved areas, but under the Sewel convention will not normally legislate on a devolved matter without the agreement of the devolved legislature.IfG That convention is not enforced by the courts, so the final legal say stays at Westminster.IfG