| Secretary of State for Scotland | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic:Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba Scots:Secretar o State fir Scotland | |
.svg) Royal Arms ofHis Majesty's Government in Scotland | |
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| Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland | |
| Style |
|
| Type | Minister of the Crown |
| Status | Secretary of State |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Seat | Westminster |
| Nominator | The Prime Minister |
| Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of thePrime Minister) |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation |
|
| Deputy | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland |
| Salary | £159,038 per annum (2022)[1] (including £86,584MP salary)[2] |
| Website | gov.uk/scotland-office |
Thesecretary of state for Scotland (Scottish Gaelic:Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba;Scots:Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as theScottish secretary, is asecretary of state in theGovernment of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for theScotland Office. The incumbent is a member of theCabinet of the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State for Scotland serves as the custodian of theScottish devolution settlement as outlined in theScotland Act 1998, and represent Scottish interests within the UK Government as well as advocate for UK Government policies in Scotland. The secretary of state for Scotland is additionally responsible for partnership between the UK Government and theScottish Government, as well as relations between theParliament of the United Kingdom and theScottish Parliament.[3]
Much of the secretary of state for Scotland's responsibility transferred to the office of thefirst minister of Scotland upon the establishment of a newScottish Executive, since renamed the Scottish Government, and a new devolvedScottish Parliament in 1999 following theScotland Act 1998.[4]
The office holder works alongside the otherScotland Office ministers. The secretary of state for Scotland is supported by their deputy, theparliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland. The incumbent isDouglas Alexander, following his appointment byPrime MinisterKeir Starmer in September 2025. The correspondingshadow minister is theshadow secretary of state for Scotland.
The post was first created after theActs of Union 1707 created theKingdom of Great Britain from theKingdom of England and theKingdom of Scotland. It was abolished in 1746, following theJacobite rising of 1745. Scottish affairs thereafter were managed by thelord advocate until 1827, when responsibility passed to theHome Office. In 1885 the post of secretary for Scotland was re-created, with the incumbent usually a member of theCabinet. In 1926 this post was upgraded to a fullsecretary of state appointment.
After the1999 Scottishdevolution, the powers of theScottish Office were divided, with most transferred to theScottish Government or to otherBritish government departments, leaving only a limited role for theScotland Office. From June 2003 to October 2008, the holder of the office of secretary of state for Scotland also held another Cabinet post concurrently, leading to claims that the Scottish role was seen as a part-time ministry.
With the advent of legislative devolution for Scotland in 1999, the role of secretary of state for Scotland was diminished. Most of the functions vested in the office since administrative devolution in the 19th century were transferred to the newly established Scottish Ministers upon the opening of theScottish Parliament, or to other UK government ministers. Most of the functions and powers of the secretary of state for Scotland transferred to thefirst minister of Scotland as the head of theScottish Government.Donald Dewar served as the first first minister of Scotland between 1999–2000,[5] having previously served as the secretary of state for Scotland between 1997–1999.[6]
However, the secretary of state does represent Scotland in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom on matters that are not devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and also holds Scotland Questions on the first Wednesday of every month between 11:30 am and 12 noon, when any member of Parliament can ask a question on any matter relating to Scotland. However, devolved issues are not usually raised by MPs, as these are decided solely by Scottish Government policy, and influenced, discussed and voted on bymembers of the Scottish Parliament inEdinburgh. Moreover, the secretary of state for Scotland cannot introduce any bill or legislation in the UK Parliament relating to a devolved matter under the convention that the UK Government will not introduce legislation on devolved areas without the agreement of the Scottish Parliament.[7] The secretary of state is also the group leader of the Scottish MPs from the government party.
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The office mainly acts as a go-between for the UK and Scottish Governments and Parliaments.[8] However, due to the secretary's position as a minister in the British government, the convention ofCabinet collective responsibility applies, and as such the post is usually viewed as being a partisan one to promote the UK government's decision-making in Scotland, as adherence to the convention precludes doing anything else.
With the rise of theScottish National Party (SNP) in both the Scottish Parliament and theBritish Parliament and the resultant interest in Scottish Independence, the secretary of state's role has also subsequently increased in prominence. TheScotland Office itself has received a cumulative increase in budget of 20% from 2013 to 2017, with a 14.4% increase in 2015/16 alone.[9]
The UK government's website lists the secretary of state for Scotland's responsibilities as being:
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This seeming lack of responsibility has in recent years seen calls from opposition MPs for the scrapping of the role and the Scotland Office.[11][9] Robert Hazell has suggested merging the offices ofsecretary of state for Northern Ireland, Scotland andWales into one secretary of state for the Union,[12] in a department into whichRodney Brazier has suggested adding a minister of state for England with responsibility forEnglish local government.[13]
More broadly, the UK Government advocates that all UK Government cabinet ministers with responsibility for a territorial secretary of state position are responsible for:[14]
The post of secretary of state for Scotland existed after theUnion of theParliament of Scotland and theParliament of England in 1707 till theJacobite rising of 1745. After the rising, responsibility for Scotland lay primarily with the office of thehome secretary, usually exercised by thelord advocate.
| Secretary of State | Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 | John Erskine Earl of Mar | (since 1705) 1 May 1707 | 3 February 1709 |
 | James Douglas 2nd Duke of Queensberry | 3 February 1709 | 6 July 1711 |
| John Erskine Earl of Mar | 9 September 1713 | 24 September 1714 |
 | James Graham 1stDuke of Montrose | 24 September 1714 | August 1715 |
 | John Ker 1stDuke of Roxburghe | 13 December 1716 | August 1725 |
 | John Hay 4thMarquess of Tweeddale | 25 February 1742 | 3 January 1746 |
Office thereafter vacant.
| Secretary for Scotland Act 1885 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for appointing a Secretary for Scotland and Vice-President of the Scotch Education Department. |
| Citation | 48 & 49 Vict. c. 61 |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 14 August 1885 |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Text of the Secretary for Scotland Act 1885 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, fromlegislation.gov.uk. | |
Thesecretary for Scotland was chiefminister in charge of theScottish Office in theUnited Kingdom government. The Scottish Office was created with the post of secretary for Scotland by theSecretary for Scotland Act 1885.[15] From 1892 the secretary for Scotland sat incabinet. The post was upgraded to full secretary of state rank as the secretary of state for Scotland in 1926.[16]
From 1885 to 1999, secretaries for Scotland and secretaries of state for Scotland alsoex officio held the post of Keeper of theGreat Seal of Scotland.[17] From 1999, the position ofkeeper of the Great Seal of Scotland has been held by thefirst minister of Scotland.[18]
Headquarters:
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| Secretary of State | | |
| Under-Secretary of State | ||
| Advocate General | ||
| Non-departmental public bodies | ||
Predecessor:Scottish Office | ||
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