Scots Secretary 'a part-time job'

The meeting took place in London

Jack McConnell has declared the Secretary of Scotland's job was no longer "full time" and that he was happy with the country's new constitutional arrangements.

The first minister has been involved in talks in London aimed at ending the confusion surrounding the Westminster cabinet reshuffle.

Mr McConnell met new Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling to discuss the best way of working together to serve the country's interests.

Mr Darling will speak for Scotland in the Commons, but the Scotland Office is being incorporated into the new Department for Constitutional Affairs under the leadership of Lord Falconer - who also attended Monday's meeting.

I'm clearly comfortable with the position announced last Thursday as a logical step at this stage of devolution

Jack McConnell

The first minister said: "There has been a change, there has been a recognition that the job is not full time, that the nature of the relationship in particular between ministers in Scotland and ministers in Whitehall should be much more of a bilateral nature."

That meant health minister talking to health minister without the filter of the Scotland Office, for example, he said.

Mr McConnell went on: "My view is that there was not a full time position of Secretary of State for Scotland, that position had to be changed, and I'm clearly comfortable with the position announced last Thursday as a logical step at this stage of devolution."

Mr McConnell's aides believe that the first minister has been strengthened by the reshuffle, which was surrounded by confusion over how the changes affected Scotland.

"The say his role as champion of Scotland is now unquestioned," said BBC Scotland's political editor Brian Taylor.

Scotland's needs

"And further, they believe the Scottish Executive can now take over lingering Westminster tasks, like liaison with Scots abroad, and clarify who speaks for Scotland on economic development."

He said the executive would also been seeking a share of the £7m which was spent on the Scotland Office each year.

Mr Darling, who is also UK transport minister, says that he sees his role as emphasising Scotland's needs at Downing Street.

Alistair Darling said the changes had to happen

Last week's reshuffle was mired in confusion as it initially appeared that the Scotland Office and the post of Scottish secretary had been scrapped.

However, it later emerged that Mr Darling would take on the title of Secretary of State for Scotland.

Mr McConnell said he had not spoken to Mr Blair about the reshuffle since last Thursday but added he had spoken to him regularly over the months about the issue.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Monday, Mr Darling again defended the reshuffle and stressed that those involved would be judged on what they deliver.

He said the Scottish secretary's job had changed "dramatically and inevitably" due to devolution.

"It would have been very odd to have continued with a Scotland Office and the role of secretary of state as if nothing has happened," he said.

"Devolution has changed the way Scotland is governed dramatically and what we now have is the logical consequence of that."

Civil servants

He said Scottish Executive ministers frequently approached UK ministers directly and did not need a Scottish secretary to "hold their hands".

Mr Darling agreed that the Scotland Office would need to be "reorganised".

He said: "I'm very conscious of the fact that there are just over 100 civil servants working in the Scotland Office.

"We and the officials concerned will need to work out what the new organisation ought to be to reflect the very different and changed job."

'Constitutional wrangling'

Meanwhile, the Scottish National Party (SNP) has called for Dover House, the Scotland Office headquarters in London, to be brought under the control of the Scottish Parliament.

Pete Wishart MP, the SNP chief whip at Westminster, said it could also be used by the executive to promote Scotland's interests south of the border.

He said: "The prime minister's official spokesman has already said that Lord Falconer will have 'very little' to do with Scotland, so there is no way that Scotland Office resources should come under his control."

Scots Tory leader David McLetchie said he feared the meeting could have been a wasted opportunity.

He said that instead of "constitutional wrangling", Mr McConnell should have sought guarantees that Westminster ministers involved in the Holyrood project would give evidence to the inquiry set up to investigate the fiasco.

A statement on the situation is to be made by the prime minister in the House of Commons on Wednesday, following a request from the Speaker Michael Martin.