Scottish Parliament Legislative Consent Memorandums

Detected March 20th, 2026

Summary

The Scottish Parliament provides information on Legislative Consent Memorandums (LCMs), which are lodged by the Scottish Government when the UK Parliament considers bills affecting devolved matters. The page lists current and archived LCMs related to UK Parliament bills, detailing the process for seeking the Scottish Parliament's consent.

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This document describes the process by which the Scottish Parliament considers Legislative Consent Memorandums (LCMs) when the UK Parliament proposes legislation that impacts devolved matters or the Scottish Parliament's legislative competence. It explains that the Scottish Government lodges an LCM, which is then reviewed by parliamentary committees before the Parliament decides whether to grant consent. The page serves as a portal to current and archived LCMs, including those related to specific UK bills like the Representation of the People Bill and the Armed Forces Bill, with lodging dates provided.

For compliance officers, this notice is primarily informational. It outlines a procedural step in the legislative process between the UK and Scottish Parliaments. While it does not impose direct new obligations, understanding this process is crucial for entities operating in Scotland that may be affected by UK legislation impacting devolved powers. No immediate actions are required based on this notice, but awareness of the LCM process is beneficial for monitoring legislative developments.

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Bills and Laws

Legislative Consent Memorandums

The UK Parliament sometimes considers a Bill (draft law) that relates to devolved matters, or that alters the Scottish Parliament’s “legislative competence” (its power to make laws) or the powers of Scottish Government ministers. There is a convention that the UK Parliament does not normally pass such a Bill without the Scottish Parliament’s consent. Before the Parliament is asked to decide whether or not to give that consent, the Scottish Government has to lodge a document called a “legislative consent memorandum”, which is then considered by Scottish Parliament committees. You can find these memorandums (or LCMs) on this page.

How this page works This page lists UK Parliament Bills. Click on the Bill title to find information about all LCMs and supplementary LCMs that relate to the Bill, together with information about any motions that have been lodged. These motions are currently known as “motions on legislative consent”, but from late 2005 to mid-2025 were known as “legislative consent motions” (and before that as “Sewel motions”).

How to access older memorandums and motions Older memorandums and motions are the available in the following archives:

Archive of Sewel memorandums and motions considered in Session 1 (1999-2003)

Archive of Sewel memorandums and motions considered in Session 2 (2003-2005)

Archive of LCMs from 2005 to 2016 (lodged in Sessions 2, 3 and 4)

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
1. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 4 May 2021
2. Current session: 13 May 2021 to 20 March 2026
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