The Scottish Government consists of the Scottish Ministers, which is used to describe their collective legal functions. The Scottish Government is accountable to the Scottish Parliament, which was also created by the Scotland Act 1998 with the first minister appointed by the monarch following a proposal by the Parliament. The Scottish Parliament can legislate on any matter that is not reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Ministers are appointed by the first minister with the approval of the Scottish Parliament and the monarch from among the members of the Parliament. The Scotland Act 1998 makes provision for ministers and junior ministers, referred to by the current administration as Cabinet secretaries and ministers, in addition to two law officers: the lord advocate and the solicitor general for Scotland. Collectively the Scottish Ministers and the Civil Service staff that support the Scottish Government are formally referred to as the Scottish Administration.
Following the 1997 referendum on devolution, many of the functions of the Secretary of State for Scotland were transferred to the Scottish Ministers, accountable to a devolved Scottish Parliament.
Since 2007, the Scottish Executive has used the name Scottish Government. The change of name was later recognised in United Kingdom legislation by the Scotland Act 2012. In 2001, former First Minister Henry McLeish had proposed such a change, but experienced some opposition.[6]
At the same time that the Scottish Government began to use its new name, a new emblem was adopted. It replaced the use of a version of the Royal Arms with the Flag of Scotland.[7]
Bills introduced by the Scottish Government are debated in the Scottish Parliament, and must receive a majority in favour of a bill becoming law
The Scottish Government is separate from the Scottish Parliament, with the parliament being made of 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament elected by the electorate of Scotland during Scottish Parliamentary elections. The Scottish Parliament acts as the law making body for devolved matters which fall under the responsibility of the Scottish Government. The work of the Scottish Government, including proposed legislation, policies and activities, is scrutinised by parliament through a variety of different measures such as parliamentary debates, parliament committees and parliamentary questions to the appropriate Cabinet Secretary or government minister.[8]
National Performance Framework
The Scottish Government produces a National Performance Framework which sets out the government's priorities, objectives and overall vision for the country following election. It serves as a means for the Scottish Government to highlight national priorities and provides an opportunity for the government to evaluate its progress towards achieving the objectives as set out in the National Performance Framework.[8]
Similarly, the Programme for Government is published annually by the incumbent Scottish Government, and it highlights the governments policies, proposed actions and legislation that the government will seek to implement in the forthcoming year.[8]
The Scottish Government introduced the first National Performance Framework (NPF) in 2007. This framework acts a means to measure the performance of the government in eleven national outcome areas which include health, poverty, environment and education. Additionally, it creates a pledge and commitment on the aspirations and aims that government wishes to create within the country. Each of the National Outcomes is measured by a number of indicators and associated data sets.[9]
Legislation
Proposed government legislation and government conduct can be scrutinised by parliamentary committees
The majority of bills proposed to the Scottish Parliament come from the Scottish Government. The process for introducing bills to the parliament for consideration and debate commences with the government publishing and formulating policy. A bill will only become law in Scotland under Scots law once it has been approved by a majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, where it will then be put to the Monarch to receive royal assent. Once royal assent has been given by the Monarch, the bill becomes a law of the Scottish Parliament and becomes embedded in Scots law.[8]
Once a bill is successful in becoming law, the Scottish Government has the responsibility to ensure subordinate legislation, which often comes in the form of Scottish statutory instruments, is implemented accordingly so that the new law begins to work and that any additional measures and features can be added in order to make the law work and ensure its effective implementation and operation.[8]
Statistics and transparency
The Scottish Government publishes statistics based on the majority of public life in Scotland, including, but not limited to, education, the economy, healthcare, population, death, marriages and births, as well as living standards. The government uses such statistics in order to evaluate its work against the data to gauge how successful, or unsuccessful, government policy is and whether it is having the desired impact.[8]
In order to ensure accountability, the Scottish Government publishes information for public consumption in order to ensure the work of the Scottish Government is accessible and transparent for the public. It commits itself to publishing information in areas relating to the spending of public money and creating a breakdown of public spending, the work of senior civil servants in the Scottish Government, including their job titles and salaries, as well as government assessment against objectives in order to highlight how well the government is doing in achieving the targets and objectives it creates through the National Performance Framework and Programme for Government. Additionally, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 gives the public the right to ask for information relating to the Scottish Government, as well as other public sectors.[8]
The Scottish Government consists of a first minister, deputy first minister, nine cabinet secretaries and eighteen other government ministers, collectively for statutory purposes, "the Scottish Ministers".[10] Cabinet secretaries are senior members of the Scottish Cabinet, whilst the remaining government ministers are junior ministers of the government and act as a deputy to the corresponding cabinet secretary of that department, and support the duties and functions of the cabinet secretary. As junior ministers of the government, ministers do not usually attend the Scottish Cabinet; only the cabinet secretary attends.[11]
Bute House in Edinburgh is the official residence of the first minister
The head of the Scottish Government is the first minister who also serves as the keeper of the Great Seal whilst in office as first minister. The first minister chairs the Scottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy.[13] Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Scotland in an official capacity, at home and abroad.[13] In their capacity as Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, the first minister is one of only a few individuals permitted to fly the Royal Banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland.[14]
The first minister is nominated by the Scottish Parliament by fellow MSPs, and is formally appointed by the monarch. The first minister appoints members of the Scottish Cabinet and junior ministers of the Scottish Government. As head of the Scottish Government, the first minister is directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament for their actions and the actions of the wider government and cabinet.[15]
The Scottish Cabinet collectively takes responsibility for policy coordination within the Scottish Government. It is supported by the Cabinet Secretariat, based at St Andrew's House. While the Scottish Parliament is in session, Cabinet meets weekly.[17] Normally meetings are held on Tuesday afternoons in Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister.[18] Members of the Scottish Cabinet receive blue despatch boxes for their use while in office.[19]
There are currently two sub-committees of cabinet:[20]
The Lord Advocate is the principal legal adviser for both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland on civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament. The Lord Advocate provides legal advice to the government on its responsibilities, policies, legislation and the legal implications of any proposals brought forward by the government. The Lord Advocate is responsible for all legal advice which is given to the Scottish Government.[21]
The Lord Advocate serves as the ministerial head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and as such, is the chief public prosecutor for Scotland with all prosecutions on indictment being conducted by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in the Lord Advocate's name on behalf of the Monarch. The Lord Advocate serves as the head of the systems of prosecutions in Scotland and is responsible for the investigation of all sudden, suspicious, accidental and unexplained deaths which occur within Scotland.[22][23]
The Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Scottish Government on Scots law. They are also responsible for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service which together constitute the Criminal Prosecution Service in Scotland. Together with the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the senior legal advisors to the government in Scotland.[25] Whilst the Solicitor General for Scotland supports the Lord Advocate in their functions, the Solicitor General may also exercise their statutory and common law powers when necessary.[26] The incumbent Solicitor General for Scotland is Ruth CharterisKC.
The Scottish law officers are appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the incumbent first minister, with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament. They need not be members of the Scottish Parliament.[27]
Civil service
In addition to the Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Government is supported by a number of officials drawn from the UK Civil Service. They are collectively referred to as the Scottish Administration in the Scotland Act 1998. According to 2012 reports, there are 16,000 civil servants working in core Scottish Government directorates and agencies.[28]
A total of eight director–generals head Scotland's civil service department. Each director–general is responsible for a number of directorates and agencies of the Scottish Government and are directly accountable for the legislation proposals, as well as implementing government policy into practice. Public bodies (non–ministerial departments of the Scottish Government) are the responsibility of the senior civil servants as opposed to Scottish Government ministers.[29]
The Permanent Secretary is the Scottish Government's most senior civil servant. They lead the administration's strategic board as well as directly support the first minister and cabinet and is the accountable officer with responsibility to ensure that the government's money and resources are used effectively and properly.[31] The current permanent secretary is John-Paul Marks, who succeeded Leslie Evans in January 2022.[32]
The Permanent Secretary is a member of the UK Civil Service, and therefore takes part in the UK-wide Permanent Secretaries Management Group under the Cabinet Secretary who performs a number of similar functions in relation to the UK Government. The Scottish Government's Permanent Secretary is responsible to the Scottish Ministers in terms of policy.[33]
Strategic Board
The strategic board is composed of the permanent secretary, the seven directors-general, two chief advisers (scientific and economic) and four non-executive directors. The board is responsible for providing support to the government through the permanent secretary, and is the executive of the Scottish civil service.[34]
The Scottish Government is divided into 55 directorates which execute government policy in specified areas. Unlike in the British government, senior ministers do not lead government departments and have no direct role in the operation of the directorates.
The directorates are grouped together into eight "Directorates General", each run by a senior civil servant who is titled a "Director-General". As of February 2024, there are eight Directorates General:
To deliver its work, there are 9 executive agencies established by ministers as part of government departments, or as departments in their own right, to carry out a discrete area of work. These include, for example, the Scottish Prison Service and Transport Scotland. Executive agencies are staffed by civil servants.
There are two non-ministerial departments that form part of the Scottish administration, and therefore the devolved administration, but answer directly to the Scottish Parliament rather than to ministers: these are the General Register Office for Scotland and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
The Scottish Government is also responsible for some other public bodies that are not classed as non-departmental public bodies, such as NHS Boards, visiting committees for Scottish penal establishments, and HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland.
Offices
The headquarters building of the Scottish Government is St Andrew's House, which is located on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Some other government directorates are based at Victoria Quay and Saughton House in Edinburgh, and Atlantic Quay in Glasgow. The head offices of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Lord Advocate's Chambers are at Chambers Street in central Edinburgh.
There are numerous other Edinburgh properties occupied by the Scottish Government. Both the Scottish Fiscal Commission and the Scottish Human Rights Commission are based in the old Governor's House on the site of the former Calton Gaol, next door to St. Andrew's House on Regent Road. Other offices are scattered around central Edinburgh, including Bute House on Charlotte Square, the official residence of the first minister.
All Ministers and officials have access to Scotland House at Victoria Embankment in London, when necessary. Dover House on Whitehall is now used by the Scotland Office and the devolved Scottish Ministers no longer use it.[36]
The Scottish Government also operates local offices and specialist facilities around Scotland, for example those used by Rural Payments & Services[37] and Marine Scotland.
The Scottish Government has a European Union representative office, located at Rond-Point Robert Schuman in Brussels, Belgium, which forms a part of the United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the European Union.[38] The Scottish Government also maintains offices within the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., as well as the British Embassy in Berlin and has accredited representatives within the British Embassy in Beijing.
Scotland has a network of eight international offices across the world located in:[39]
Dublin (Scottish Government Dublin Office, British Embassy)
Ottawa (Scottish Government Ottawa Office, British High Commission)
Paris (Scottish Government Office, British Embassy)
Washington DC (Scottish Government Washington DC Office, British Embassy)
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers broadly follow those of the Scottish Parliament provided for in the Scotland Act 1998 and subsequent UK legislation. Where pre-devolution legislation of the UK Parliament provided that certain functions could be performed by UK Government ministers, these functions were transferred to the Scottish Ministers if they were within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
Functions which were devolved under the Scotland Act 1998 included:[41]
Education – pre-school, primary, secondary, further, higher and lifelong education, as well as educational training policy and programmes
Justice – civil justice, civil law and procedure, courts, criminal justice, criminal law and procedure, debt and bankruptcy, family law, legal aid, the legal profession, and property law
Most aspects of transport – setting drink and drug-driving limits, speed limits, some aspects of railways, including Scottish passenger rail franchises (ScotRail), concessionary travel schemes, cycling, parking, local road pricing, congestion charging, promotion of road safety and road signs
Environment – environmental protection policy, climate change, pollution, waste management, water supplies and sewerage, national parks and flood and coastal protection
Some aspects of the benefits system – Best Start Grant, Carer's Allowance Supplement, Child Disability Payment, Child Winter Heating Assistance, Funeral Support Payment, Universal Credit (although this is remains a reserved benefit, some powers over how it is paid have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament)
The 1998 Act also provided for orders to be made allowing Scottish Ministers to exercise powers of UK Government ministers in areas that remain reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Equally the Act allows for the Scottish Ministers to transfer functions to the UK Government ministers, or for particular "agency arrangements". This executive devolution means that the powers of the Scottish Ministers and the Scottish Parliament are not identical.[44]
The members of the Scottish government have substantial influence over legislation in Scotland, putting forward the majority of bills that are successful in becoming Acts of the Scottish Parliament.[46]
^Britten, Nick (10 January 2001). "Fury at bid to rename Scottish Executive". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2013. Henry McLeish, the First Minister, threatened to set himself on a collision course with Tony Blair by wanting to rename the Executive the Scottish Government. The proposal caused an immediate split in Labour ranks and left McLeish facing allegations of arrogance and over-ambition. Scotland Office minister Brian Wilson said that the First Minister should think carefully about using the term "government". He said: "Maybe they should take time to look at how other countries with two tiers of government handle this. Nobody in Germany has any difficulty distinguishing between the government and the devolved administrations."
^"Appointment and Role". firstminister.gov.scot. Office of the First Minister of Scotland. 5 February 2015. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
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