GOVERNMENT ministers were heading last night for a split with their Labour counterparts in Scotland over the introduction of ID cards.

The Scottish Parliament rejected the idea of the cards after an SNP-inspired debate this year. Labour ministers at Holyrood have said, however, that while they will be introduced north of the border to access services reserved to Westminster, such as pensions and welfare benefits, they will not be needed for devolved policy areas such as health, education and transport.

That raises the prospect of a two-tier scheme operating in Britain with, for example, NHS patients in England having to use their cards while patients in Scotland will not be required to present them.

Sources close to Jack McConnell, Scotland’s First Minister, insisted last night that the cards would be needed to access devolved public services only if the Scottish Parliament agreed. There seems to be little prospect of that, however, because the Liberal Democrats, Labour’s partners in the ruling Holyrood coalition, are vehemently opposed to ID cards, along with several Labour MSPs, the SNP, the Greens and Scottish Socialists.

More than 30 of the 40 Bills covered by the Queen’s Speech will have implications for Scotland. The Immigration and Asylum Bill includes plans for a points system for work permits and Scottish ministers are negotiating with Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, with a view to awarding extra points to skilled migrants willing to live and work in Scotland.

The move would be part of Mr McConnell’s Fresh Talent initiative aimed at attracting skilled migrant workers to Scotland to halt its population decline. Executive sources said last night that they expected an agreement on the issue to be reached soon.

Only the part of the Violent Crime Bill relating to firearms will apply in Scotland but Holyrood ministers hope that the Home Office will bring forward this summer further measures to restrict the use of airguns. Mr McConnell and Cathy Jamieson, Scotland’s Justice Minister, have been in talks with Mr Clarke about the extent of any such restrictions after the murder of a Glasgow toddler in March. It is doubtful, however, that they would entail an outright UK-wide ban.

The Bills that relate to wholly or predominantly reserved matters and apply to the whole of the UK, including Scotland, cover the Armed Forces, civil aviation, company law reform, consumer credit, EU accession, EU referendum, ID cards, immigration and asylum, incapacity benefit, housing benefit, judicial pensions, merchant shipping, the National Lottery, regulation of financial services, regulatory reform, road safety and parental rights.

Bills applying partly to Scotland — they contain a mixture of reserved and devolved matters — include one on animal welfare. The Executive is bringing forward its own Animal Welfare Bill but a section of the English Bill will mean that Scottish courts will be able to recognise cruelty convictions south of the border. Other Bills in this category concern electoral administration, equality, health improvement and protection (sections of this Bill covers medicines), management of offenders (sections covering the establishment of an ombudsman), mental health, the natural environment and rural communities (which sets up a UK-wide Commission for Rural Communities), the Olympics (the Bill will be introduced only if the UK wins the 2012 Olympics bid and Scotland hosts some events), violent crime (parts of this Bill relating to reserved matters, such as firearms, will apply in Scotland).

Bills that do not apply to Scotland are those covering charities and common land in England and Wales, compensation, corporate manslaughter, criminal defence, Crossrail, education, fraud, incitement to religious hatred, NHS redress, safeguarding vulnerable groups and child care.

The SNP called the contents of the speech recycled and said that it showed the Blair Government was on its last legs.

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