BRITAIN:The election of the minority Scottish National Party executive at Holyrood has already produced a "sea change" in relationships, with Edinburgh and London operating increasingly "as separate administrations" and with further changes foreshadowed.
Scotland's most senior civil servant, John Elvidge, has confirmed plans to sever the link with Whitehall and create a separate Scottish civil service, probably based on the "independent" Northern Ireland model. This is consistent with the commitment in the SNP's manifesto for the Holyrood elections last May.
Sir John has also hinted there could be a formal move to drop the title of Scottish executive in favour of "Scottish government".
In an interview with the Scotsman newspaper, Sir John disclosed that the election of the SNP administration had ended the "informal contacts" that were commonplace between the previously Labour-led Scottish executive and the UK government in London.
Asked about relations with Whitehall now, he told the newspaper: "They understand they can't expect me to tell them the thoughts of this government and that I don't expect them to tell me the thoughts of the UK government until we are in a process of discussion about a particular thing.
"I don't expect them to talk as freely to me as they would talk to each other and they understand I won't talk to them about the thinking of the government here until we are ready to do that in a reasonably formal way. It changes the nature of the conversation; it makes it a bit more formal. It is working for a separate government. There isn't much ambiguity about that."
About a move from "executive" to "government", Sir John observed that the Welsh assembly had adopted the term through Westminster legislation. "That probably tells us 'government' is not a frightening word in London," he said.
One constitutional expert said last night that the move toward an independent Scottish civil service was less significant than the general "direction of travel" evidenced by the SNP administration. Conservative unionists at Westminster would be disturbed by any evidence of the SNP weakening the existing "protocols" for the development and maintenance of close links between Whitehall and devolved ministers.
However, a senior DUP source in Belfast suggested that any erosion of the protocols was more likely the result of Whitehall's past exercise of power and refusal to consult and share information on a proper basis.