TheScottish Government (Scottish Gaelic:Riaghaltas na h-Alba,pronounced[ˈrˠiə.əl̪ˠt̪əsnəˈhal̪ˠapə]) is theexecutive arm of thedevolved government ofScotland.^[2] It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered atSt Andrew's House in the capital city,Edinburgh.^[3] It has been described as one of the most powerful devolved governments globally,^[4] withfull legislative control over a number of areas, including theeconomy,education,healthcare,justice andthe legal system, rural affairs, housing, thecrown estate, the environment, emergency services, equal opportunities,the transportation network, andtax, amongst others.^[5][6]

Scottish Government
Scottish Gaelic:Riaghaltas na h-Alba Scots:Scots Govrenment
Logo of the Scottish Government
Overview
Established	1 July 1999 (1999-07-01)
Country	Scotland
Leader	First Minister (John Swinney)
Appointed by	First Minister approved byParliament, ceremonially appointed by themonarch
Main organ	Scottish Cabinet
Ministries	56government directorates 131public bodies 10executive agencies 46non–executive agencies
Responsible to	Scottish Parliament
Annual budget	£59.7 billion (2024–25)[1]
Headquarters	St Andrew's House,Edinburgh
Website	www.gov.scot

Ministers are appointed by the first minister with the approval of the Scottish Parliament and the monarch from among the members of the Parliament. TheScotland Act 1998 makes provision for ministers and junior ministers, referred to by the current administration as Cabinet secretaries and ministers, in addition to twolaw officers: thelord advocate and thesolicitor general for Scotland. Collectively the Scottish Ministers and theCivil Service staff that support the Scottish Government are formally referred to as the Scottish Administration. Only the first minister and their deputy, cabinet secretaries, the law officers, thepermanent secretary andMinister for Parliamentary Business serve within theScottish Cabinet.^[7]

The Scottish Government consists of the Scottish Ministers, which is the term used to describe their collective legal functions. The Scottish Government is accountable to theScottish Parliament, which was also created by the Scotland Act 1998 with thefirst minister appointed by themonarch following a proposal by the Parliament. The Scottish Parliament can legislate on any matter that is notreserved to theParliament of the United Kingdom.

Prior to theTreaty of Union 1707,the Crown in Scotland was the most important element of government in the Kingdom of Scotland despite the many royalminorities. Government in the Kingdom of Scotland was mostly executed by thePrivy Council of Scotland, the body of advisers to the Scottish monarch. Recognised as having substantially more powers than theparliament, its responsibilities included the political, administrative, economic and social affairs of the country, and supervised the administration of the law, regulated trade and shipping, took emergency measures against the plague, granted licences to travel, administered oaths of allegiance, banishedbeggars andgypsies, dealt withwitches,recusants,Covenanters andJacobites and tackled the problem oflawlessness in theHighlands and theBorders.^[8]

In the late Middle Ages, it saw much of the aggrandisement associated with the New Monarchs elsewhere in Europe.^[9] Theories ofconstitutional monarchy and resistance were articulated by Scots, particularlyGeorge Buchanan, in the 16th century, but James VI of Scotland advanced the theory of thedivine right of kings, and these debates were restated in subsequent reigns and crises. The court remained at the centre of political life, and in the 16th century emerged as a major centre of display and artistic patronage, until it was effectively dissolved with theUnion of the Crowns in 1603.^[10] TheParliament of Scotland also emerged as a major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy.^[11] By the end of the Middle Ages it was sitting almost every year, partly because of the frequent royal minorities and regencies of the period, which may have prevented it from being sidelined by the monarchy.^[12]

The signing of the 1707 Treaty of Union ended the political independence of Scotland. TheParliament of Scotland, that country's legislature situated atParliament House, Edinburgh, was subsumed into theParliament of Great Britain which would be based inLondon.^[13] Following the ratification of the Treaty of Union, Parliament House became the seat of theSupreme Courts of Scotland in which it remains today. Under the terms of the Treaty of Union, various elements of independence from England were retained for Scotland, such as a separateeducation andlegal system (including the Scottish court system –Court of Session andHigh Court of Justiciary) as was the countrieschurch and religion. Additionally, theCrown of Scotland and theHonours of Scotland were to remain in Scotland, as were all parliamentary and other official records.^[13]

In 1885, many domestic policy functions relating to Scotland were brought into the responsibility of theScottish Office, adepartment of the Government of the United Kingdom which was headed by a Secretary for Scotland, later theSecretary of State for Scotland. In 1969, a Royal Commission on the Constitution was established to examine the constitutional composition in which various models to introduce devolution in Scotland was considered, some of which were accepted whilst some were rejected. During the 1970s, there was increasing pressure to reform the constitution, and thus, the Labour government under Prime MinisterJames Callaghan, held areferendum on Scottish devolution in 1979. The referendum would have enacted theScotland Act 1978, and would have created aScottish Assembly with limited legislative powers. There would have been a Scottish Executive headed by a "First Secretary", taking over some of the functions of theSecretary of State for Scotland. Meetings of the Scottish Assembly would have been held at theOld Royal High School in Regent Road,Edinburgh. The former school hall was adapted for use by the Scottish Assembly, including the installation of microphones and new olive-green leather seating. Members would have been elected by the "first past the post" system. Despite a majority of the Scottish population voting Yes in the 1979 referendum (52% in favour), it only amounted to 33% of the electorate and therefore was not recognised.^[14]

The 1979 Conservative Party government, headed by Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher, did not support devolution for Scotland as detailed in the Scotland Act 1978. Instead, it supported the devolution of further powers to the administrative government of Scotland and allowing special treatment of Scottish business in Parliament.^[14]

In 1997, the Labour Party returned to government, withTony Blair as Prime Minister, and had included the establishment of a Scottish Parliament in its manifesto for the1997 general election, which they won with a landslide majority of 179.^[15] Blair held areferendum on Scottish devolution in September 1997, with 1,775,045 people (74.2%) voting in favour in contrast to 614,400 (25.7%) voting against the proposal. The referendum result was recognised, and theScotland Act 1998 created both a Scottish Parliament and a Scottish Executive, with many of the functions of the Secretary of State for Scotland being transferred to the Scottish Ministers, accountable to a devolved Scottish Parliament. The new parliament and Scottish Executive were also to have control over tax varying powers,^[16] and full legislative control over areas such ashealthcare,education,policing,Scots law,environment,housing,local government,culture and some aspects oftransportation, amongst others.^[17]

Subsequently, the Scotland Acts of2012 and2016 transferred powers oversome taxation includingIncome Tax,Land and Buildings Transaction Tax,Landfill Tax, Aggregates Levy andAir Departure Tax,drink driving limits,Scottish Parliament and local authority elections, somesocial security powers, theCrown Estate of Scotland, some aspects of the benefits system, some aspects of theenergy network in Scotland includingrenewable energy, energy efficiency and onshoreoil and gas licensing, some aspects of equality legislation in Scotland and gaming machine licensing.^[18][19]

Thefirst Scottish Executive was formed by First MinisterDonald Dewar as a coalition between theScottish Labour Party and theScottish Liberal Democrats. During this period, ministerial appointees were divided into ministers and deputy ministers. The Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition continued under subsequent First MinistersHenry McLeish andJack McConnell. Following the2007 Scottish Parliament election,Alex Salmond became the first politician from theScottish National Party to lead the Scottish Government. He becamefirst minister in 2007 and served in office until his resignation in 2014, with his formerdeputy first minister,Nicola Sturgeon, succeeding him in November 2014.^[20]

Since 2007, the Scottish Executive has used the name Scottish Government. The change of name was later recognised in United Kingdom legislation by theScotland Act 2012. In 2001, former First Minister Henry McLeish had proposed such a change, but experienced some opposition.^[21] 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 theRoyal Arms with theFlag of Scotland.^[22] In September 2014, the Scottish Government held areferendum on Scotlandregaining its independence, following the signing of theEdinburgh Agreement in 2012 by the Scottish Government and UK Government which transferred powers from the UK Parliament to the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum on the issue.^[23]

The Scottish Government's main headquarters are based atSt Andrew's House in the capital city, Edinburgh. Additionally, the Scottish Government has offices atVictoria Quay, Saughton House andBute House (the official residence of the first minister), all located in Edinburgh, with an additional office at5 Atlantic Quay inGlasgow. All Ministers and officials have access to Scotland House atVictoria Embankment in London, when necessary.Dover House on Whitehall is now used by theScotland Office and the devolved Scottish Ministers no longer use it.^[24]

From 1 January 2021, the Scottish Government instructed allScottish legislation be legally required to keep in regulatory alignment in devolved competences with futureEuropean Union law following the end of the Brexit transition period which ended on 31 December 2020 after the Scottish Parliament passed theUK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2020.^[25]

The Scottish Government is separate from theScottish Parliament, with the parliament being made of 129Members 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.^[26]

The Scottish Government is directly responsible for implementing thelaws which have received parliamentary approval by the Scottish Parliament. The party with the largest number of MSPs elected to the Scottish Parliament following parliamentary elections is responsible for forming a government. As such, it is the Scottish Government which proposes the majority of bills to the parliament for consideration before becoming law. If parliament gives a bill an overall majority, it passes and becomes enshrined inScots law following receivingroyal assent from the monarch. Each law is approved by the monarch using theGreat Seal of Scotland.^[27]

Each year, the Scottish Government produces its annualbudget for public spending which is presented to members of the Scottish Parliament for consideration. The Budget Bill is scrutinised by theparliamentary committees, and goes through three parliamentary stages before passing – a parliamentary debate on the general principles of the Budget Bill, any changes to the Budget Bill can be put forward to parliament by Scottish Government ministers, with such proposed changes being considered by the Finance and Constitution Committee, and lastly, MSPs determine whether any additional changes are required following the changes proposed by Scottish Government ministers, and members then vote on whether to pass the Bill. Similar to other acts of the Scottish Parliament, if the Budget Bill passes in the Scottish Parliament, it receives royal assent and becomes an Act of the Scottish Parliament.^[28]

Strategically, the first minister is the head of the Scottish Government, and not the head of the Scottish Parliament. The head of the Scottish Parliament is usually considered to be thepresiding officer who is the speaker of the parliament and presides over all parliamentary business and debates. The Scottish Government is directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament, and both the government and parliament are directly accountable to the public of Scotland.^[29]

The Scottish Government produces a National Performance Framework (NPF) which sets out the government's priorities, objectives and overall vision for the country following election. First introduced 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. It creates a pledge and commitment on the aspirations and aims that government wishes to create within the country, and serves as a means for the 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.^[26] Each of the National Outcomes is measured by a number of indicators and associated data sets.^[30]

Similarly, the Programme for Government is published annually by the incumbent Scottish Government, and it highlights the government's policies, proposed actions and legislation that the government will seek to implement in the forthcoming year.^[26]

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.^[26]

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.^[26]

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.^[26]

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, theFreedom 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.^[26]

The Scottish Government outlines all spending and tax plans in its annualScottish budget. In Scotland, the fiscal year runs from 1 April until 30 March, with the budget being presented to the Scottish Parliament by the government usually in November. The accompanying Budget Document is featured with the Budget Bill, which sets out the plans in a legal document. Initially, the Budget Bill is first debated by Scottish Parliament MSPs who conduct votes within the Scottish Parliament on any amendments to the bill before voting on the bill to be made into law. Once passed by parliament and given royal assent by the monarch, the Scottish Government thus becomes legally responsible for implementing the expenditure and taxation plans which were detailed within the budget for the coming fiscal year.^[31]

The Budget outlines all plans for how the Scottish Government intends to distribute funds to each government department. The government must provide their reasonings for the allocation of funding, and may also decide on changes in tax rates and bands, changes to welfare benefits. The government also proposes any new taxes, additional welfare benefits and public services in the budget. During the 2019-2020 financial year, approximately 58% of total spending in Scotland was spent by both the Scottish Government and local government, in contrast to 41% of funding spent in Scotland by UK government bodies. The tax powers of the Scottish Government contribute towards a significant amount of the funding within the Scottish budget.^[31]

The Scottish Government primarily spends in three main categories – Capital, Resource and Annually Managed Expenditure (AME). AME directly contributes £9 billion to the Scottish budget, and includes all levels of funding that are devolved, however, it also continues to be annually funded by the UK Government on the basis of demand. The areas of budget responsibility in which the Scottish Government has most influence over is resource and capital spending. The resource budget is associated primarily with all day-to-day spending required to provide Scottish public services, whilst the capital budget is primarily for any investment in assets and infrastructure around the country. AME spending is usually required to be spent on areas such as NHS employees and teacher pensions, with that funding being ringfenced, meaning that the Scottish Government has very little influence over spending within AME.^[31]

The Scottish Government's budget is primarily made up of funding from the following areas:^[31]

• Block Grants determined by theBarnett Formula
• Devolved taxes and non-tax income
• Block Grant Adjustments
• Reconciliation payments
• Government borrowing

TheCabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government is the minister of the Scottish Government responsible for outlining government spending plans in the annual budget.

Local government in Scotland consists of 32 local authorities which operate independently from the central, devolved Scottish Government. The local authorities, known as councils, provides public services which include education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning in their respective areas. Councils receive their funding from the Scottish Government over a three-year period, however, at times this may be reduced to every one year.^[32]

TheCabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government is the minister within the Scottish Government responsible for relations between the central Scottish Government and local government across Scotland.

Unlike some other countries, Scotland and the Scottish Parliament do not elect one individual to become the first minister, nor does it directly elect members of the government. Rather, the electorate in Scotland voting in parliamentary elections to the Scottish Parliament by voting for one constituency MSP and a regional MSP. In turn, the party with the largest candidates returned to the Scottish Parliament will be asked by the monarch to form a Scottish Government in their name.^[33] From 1999 until 2007, the Scottish Government, then known as the Scottish Executive, was headed by a coalition agreement between theScottish Labour Party andScottish Liberal Democrats.^[34] Since 2007, the Scottish Government has been run by theScottish National Party, forming a majority government for the first time in the history of the Scottish Government following the2011 Scottish Parliament elections.^[35] In 2007,Alex Salmond became the first politician from the SNP to lead the Scottish Government.^[36]

In 2024, the Scottish Government passed the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Bill which the government claims will "enhance Scotland’s democratic processes". One of the major introductions of the bill is the ban on MSPs also serving as an MP or Peer in theHouse of Commons whilst serving as an incumbent MSP in the Scottish Parliament.^[37] The Scottish Government is directly responsible for all elections to the Scottish Parliament and local government in Scotland.^[38] In 2015, the Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Bill allowed all 16 and 17 year olds in Scotland to vote, the first time in which they were eligible to legally vote being the2016 Scottish Parliament election.^[39]

•  
  John Swinney (SNP)
  First Minister andKeeper of the Great Seal
•  
  Kate Forbes (SNP)
  Deputy First Minister andCabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
•  
  John-Paul Marks
  Permanent Secretary
•  
  Dorothy Bain
  Lord Advocate
•  
  Ruth Charteris
  Solicitor General
•  
  Shona Robison (SNP)
  Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
•  
  Angus Robertson (SNP)
  Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution and External Affairs
•  
  Angela Constance (SNP)
  Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs

The Scottish Government consists of afirst minister,deputy first minister, ninecabinet secretaries and eighteen other government ministers, collectively for statutory purposes, "theScottish Ministers".^[40] Cabinet secretaries are senior members of theScottish 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.^[41]

Additionally, the Scottish Government is supported by apermanent secretary, two law officers – theLord Advocate and theSolicitor General for Scotland – who serve as the chief legal advisers to the government, and thechief of staff to the first minister, as well as several other government officials, personal secretaries and advisers to the Scottish Government and the first minister.^[42]

The head of the Scottish Government is thefirst minister who also serves as thekeeper of the Great Seal whilst in office as first minister. The first minister chairs theScottish Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Scottish Government policy.^[43] Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Scotland in an official capacity, at home and abroad.^[43] In their capacity as Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland, the first minister is one of only a few individuals permitted to fly theRoyal Banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland.^[44]

The first minister is nominated by theScottish Parliament by fellowMSPs, and is formally appointed by themonarch. 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.^[45]

The office is held byJohn Swinney of theScottish National Party since 7 May 2024.

The first minister is supported by thedeputy first minister who deputises for the first minister during periods of absence, such as when he is attending overseas visits and international engagements, and may act on the first ministers behalf duringFirst Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament. Whilst serving as deputy first minister, the office holder holds another cabinet position. Currently,Kate Forbes, theCabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, serves as the deputy first minister.^[46]

TheScottish Cabinet collectively takes responsibility for policy coordination within the Scottish Government. It is supported by the Cabinet Secretariat, based atSt Andrew's House. While the Scottish Parliament is in session, Cabinet meets weekly.^[47] Normally meetings are held on Tuesday afternoons inBute House, theofficial residence of theFirst Minister.^[48] Members of the Scottish Cabinet receive bluedespatch boxes for their use while in office.^[49]

There are currently two sub-committees of cabinet:^[50]

• Cabinet Sub-Committee onLegislation
• Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR) Cabinet Sub-Committee

TheLord Advocate is the principal legal adviser for both the Scottish Government andthe Crown in Scotland on civil and criminal matters that fall within thedevolved powers of theScottish 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.^[51]

The Lord Advocate serves as the ministerial head of theCrown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and as such, is the chiefpublic prosecutor for Scotland with allprosecutions 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.^[52][53]

The officeholder is regarded as one of theGreat Officers of State of Scotland, with the current Lord Advocate beingDorothy BainKC, who was nominated by first ministerNicola Sturgeon in June 2021.^[54]

TheSolicitor General for Scotland is one of theLaw 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 theCrown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service which together constitute the Criminal Prosecution Service inScotland. Together with the Lord Advocate, the Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the senior legal advisors to the government in Scotland.^[55] 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.^[56] The incumbent Solicitor General for Scotland isRuth CharterisKC.

The Scottish law officers are appointed by themonarch on the recommendation of the incumbent first minister, with the agreement of the Scottish Parliament. They need not be members of the Scottish Parliament.^[57]

In addition to the Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Government is supported by a number of officials drawn from theUK 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.^[58]

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.^[59]

The civil service is a matterreserved to theBritish parliament at Westminster (rather thandevolved toHolyrood): Scottish Government civil servants work within the rules and customs ofHis Majesty's Civil Service, but serve the Scottish Government rather thanBritish government.^[60]

ThePermanent 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.^[61] The current permanent secretary isJohn-Paul Marks, who succeededLeslie Evans in January 2022.^[62]

The Permanent Secretary is a member of the UK Civil Service, and therefore takes part in the UK-wide Permanent Secretaries Management Group under theCabinet 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.^[63]

Thestrategic 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.^[64]

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, and supporting these directorates are a variety of other corporate service teams and professional groups.^[65]

TheCrown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service serves as an independentprosecution service in Scotland, and is a ministerial department of the Scottish Government. It is headed by theLord Advocate, who is, along with theprocurators fiscal, responsible for prosecution underScots law.

To deliver its work, there are 10executive agencies established by ministers as part of government departments, or as departments in their own right, to carry out a discrete area of work.^[66] These include, for example, theScottish Prison Service andTransport 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 theGeneral Register Office for Scotland and theOffice of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

The Scottish Government is also responsible for a large number ofnon-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). These include executive NDPBs (e.g.Scottish Enterprise); advisory NDPBs (e.g. theScottish Law Commission);tribunals (e.g. theChildren's Panel andAdditional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland); andnationalised industries (e.g.Scottish Water). These are staffed by public servants, rather than civil servants.

The Scottish Government is also responsible for some other public bodies that are not classed as non-departmental public bodies, such asNHS Boards, visiting committees for Scottish penal establishments, andHM Chief Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland.

The headquarters building of the Scottish Government isSt Andrew's House, which is located onCalton Hill in Edinburgh. Some other government directorates are based atVictoria 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 atChambers Street in central Edinburgh.

There are numerous other Edinburgh properties occupied by the Scottish Government. Both theScottish Fiscal Commission and theScottish 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, includingBute House on Charlotte Square, the official residence of the first minister.

All Ministers and officials have access to Scotland House atVictoria Embankment in London, when necessary.Dover House on Whitehall is now used by theScotland Office and the devolved Scottish Ministers no longer use it.^[24]

The Scottish Government also operates local offices and specialist facilities around Scotland, for example those used by Rural Payments & Services^[67] andMarine Scotland.

•  
  St Andrew's House, headquarters of the Scottish Government
•  
  Victoria Quay, offices of the Scottish Government
•  
  Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister
•  
  Scottish Government offices at5 Atlantic Quay in Glasgow
•  
  Government offices at Saughton House in Edinburgh

The Scottish Government has aEuropean Union representative office, located at Rond-Point Robert Schuman inBrussels, Belgium, which forms a part of the United Kingdom Permanent Representation to the European Union.^[68] 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:^[69]

• Beijing (Scottish Government Beijing Office,British Embassy)
• Berlin (Scottish Government Berlin Office)
• Brussels (Scotland House Brussels)
• Copenhagen (Scottish Government Copenhagen Office)^[70]
• 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)

The responsibilities of the Scottish Ministers broadly follow those of the Scottish Parliament provided for in theScotland Act 1998 and subsequent UK legislation. Where pre-devolution legislation of the UK Parliament provided that certain functions could be performed byUK Government ministers, these functions were transferred to the Scottish Ministers if they were within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government's main areas for responsibility in the country includeeducation,health and social care,Scots law,policing and justice, emergency services including thefire andambulance services,local government,taxation,housing, rural affairs, home affairs,tourism,sport,culture, parliamentary elections to the Scottish Parliament and local government, thecrown estate, somesocial security powers and rail franchising, amongst a considerable amount of others.^[71]

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 theParliament 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.^[72]

The members of the Scottish government have substantial influence overlegislation in Scotland, putting forward the majority of bills that are successful in becoming Acts of the Scottish Parliament.^[73]

Acts of Parliament relating to the Scottish Government

• Scotland Act 1998
• Scotland Act 2012
• Scotland Act 2016

Workings of the Scottish Government

• Joint Ministerial Committee
• Local income tax
• Council of Economic Advisers (Scotland)
• Scottish Broadcasting Commission
• Scottish Social Attitudes Survey

Scottish Government campaigns

• 2014 Scottish independence referendum
  • Edinburgh Agreement

History of the Scottish Government

• Kingdom of Scotland
  • Politics of Scotland
  • Parliament of Scotland
  • Parliament House, Edinburgh
• Union of the Crowns
• Treaty of Union 1707
• History of Scottish devolution

• Official website