FAQs
The questions and answers below on the Scotland Office and Scotland's devolution settlement have been created in response to the most commonly requested information by members of the public. The list is not exhaustive and the Scotland Office welcomes suggestions on what further information would be helpful. We will treat suggestions and future requests in line with the Scotland Office Charter and our Publication Scheme.
- What is the role of the Scottish Secretary?
- Where is the Scotland Office based?
- How do I contact you?
- Is the Advocate General part of the Scotland Office?
- What are reserved and devolved matters?
- What is the difference between the Scotland Office, Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament?
- How is Scottish devolution financed?
- What is the Sewel Convention?
- What is the legislative and administrative framework for Scotland's devolution settlement?
- What happens if there are disputes between the Government and the Scottish Executive?
- Where can I view a copy of the Scotland Act 1998?
- How many Scottish MPs are there?
- Why are the number of Scottish MPs being reduced?
- Who decides which seats will disappear?
- Will the number of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament be reduced in line with the reduction in MPs?
- Won't having different boundaries for UK and Scottish Parliament constituencies cause serious problems?
- What responsibility does the Secretary of State have for elections in Scotland?
- Does the Secretary of State have any responsibility for local elections?
- Where can I find out more about voting?
- What is the Secretary of State's role as regards the Communications Act 2003?
What is the Secretary of State for Scotland / Scotland Office's role?
The Secretary of State for Scotland holds the post jointly with another post in the Cabinet. In addition to his other ministerial duties, he continues to represent the interests of Scotland in Cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland, particularly in those matters reserved to the Government by the Scotland Act. He is responsible for the smooth running of the Scotland's devolution settlement and acts as guardian of the Scotland Act, especially in relation to orders (or subordinate legislation) made under its authority. The Secretary of State is supported on ministerial matters by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland. Both ministers are advised on their work in relation to Scottish devolution by the Scotland Office, a distinct entity within the Ministry of Justice. Scotland Office officials report to the Secretary of State and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for policy purposes.
The current Secretary of State is the Rt Hon Des Browne MP. The current Parliamentary Under Secretary of State is David Cairns MP.
Where is the Scotland Office based?
The Scotland Office has an office in Whitehall and an office in Edinburgh.
How do I contact you?
You can telephone us on 0207 270 6754 or email us at:
scottish.secretary@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Our postal address is:
Dover House
Whitehall
London
SW1A 2AU
Please see our contacts page for further details.
Is the Advocate General part of the Scotland Office?
No. Between June 2003 and the 8 May 2007 both the Scotland Office and the Offices of the Advocate General were distinct entities within the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The Offices are now part of the newly created Ministry of Justice. For more information on the Offices of the Advocate General, please visit their website at www.oag.gov.uk For more information on the Ministry of Justice, please visit www.justice.gov.uk.
What are reserved and devolved matters?
Reserved matters are those issues or areas that remain the responsibility of the UK Parliament. They are set out in Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998, the statutory basis for devolution. The Scottish Parliament does not have competence to legislate on these matters. They include:
- The Constitution
- Foreign affairs
- Defence
- International development
- The Civil Service
- Financial and economic matters
- National security
- Immigration and nationality
- Misuse of drugs
- Trade & Industry
- Various aspects of energy regulation (e.g. electricity; coal, oil and gas; nuclear energy)
- Various aspects of transport (e.g. regulation of air services, rail and international shipping)
- Social security
- Employment
- Broadcasting
- Equal opportunities
You can view Schedule 5 on the website of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Please note that Schedule 5 has been amended since the Scotland Act gained Royal Assent.
In broad terms, anything that is not listed in Schedule 5 is devolved to the Scottish Parliament. It can legislate, in primary legislation, on any matter devolved to it. This means that it can pass Acts. These are known as Acts of the Scottish Parliament (ASPs). These matters include, but are not limited to, health, education and transport.
What is the difference between the Scotland Office, Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament?
The Scotland Office works in partnership with the Scottish Executive, but is entirely separate from it, remaining part of the UK Government. In June 2003 it became a distinct entity within the Department for Constitutional Affairs and subsequently, in May 2007, within the Ministry of Justice (before this and from 1 July 1999 it was a Department of State). The Scotland Office is responsible for certain limited executive functions, notably in relation to the financial transactions between the UK Government and the Scottish Executive, in Parliamentary elections in Scotland and for undertaking certain residual functions for Scotland in reserved areas. The Scotland Office is also the authoritative centre of knowledge within Government on the operation of Scotland's devolution settlement and the UK legislative programme's impact on Scotland.
The Scotland Office should not be confused with the Scottish Office. The latter was the UK Government Department of State which administered Scottish affairs before devolution. It ceased to exist on 1 July 1999 and was effectively replaced by the devolved administration in Scotland, the Scottish Executive.
The Scottish Executive is the devolved administration for Scotland and is responsible for all matters devolved to it under the Scotland Act, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and most transport issues. The Executive was established in 1999, following the first elections to the Scottish Parliament. It is a coalition between the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party. The Executive is led by a First Minister who is nominated by the Parliament and appointed by Her Majesty the Queen. The First Minister in turn appoints the other Scottish Ministers who make up the Scottish Cabinet. Civil Servants in the Scottish Executive remain part of the UK Civil Service. However, they are accountable to Scottish Ministers, who are themselves accountable to the Scottish Parliament. To visit the Scottish Executive's website, click here. To visit the Scottish Parliament's website, click here.
The relationship between the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Parliament is similar to the relationship between the Government and Parliament. The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament). Like the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament passes laws. It also scrutinises the work and policies of the Scottish Executive.
How is Scottish devolution financed?
Scottish devolution is financed in line with the Treasury's Statement of Funding Policy. The arrangements set out in this Statement represent, in most cases, the continuation of long-standing conventions that have guided funding for Scotland. Government funding for the devolved administrations budgets generally, is normally determined following spending reviews of the departments of the United Kingdom. The UK Parliament votes the necessary provision to the territorial Secretaries of State, who in turn make payments to the devolved administrations.
The block grants (or assigned budgets) are contained within the devolved administrations' Departmental Expenditure Limits. Changes to these budgets are generally determined by the Barnett formula. Under the formula, Scotland receives a population based proportion of changes in planned spending on comparable Government services in England.
What is the Sewel Convention?
Under the British Constitution the UK Parliament is sovereign and can legislate on any matter. However, in order to give freedom of action to the Scottish Parliament the Government has adopted a Convention, named after Lord Sewel, who first articulated it during proceedings on the Scotland Bill, whereby "The UK Parliament will not normally legislate in relation to devolved matters in Scotland without the agreement of the Scottish Parliament." The Scottish Parliament can agree the incorporation of legislative provisions affecting Scotland in devolved areas by approving a 'Sewel Motion'. This means that the Scottish Parliament may agree that Westminster should legislate for Scotland on devolved matters where, for example, it is considered sensible and appropriate to put in place a single UK-wide regime.
What is the legislative and administrative framework for Scotland's devolution settlement?
The statutory framework for devolution set out in the Scotland Act 1998 is underpinned by administrative agreements between the Government and the Scottish Executive, notably the Memorandum of Understanding and four Overarching Concordats [PDF - 218KB] (on International Relations, the EU, Financial Assistance to Industry and Statistics). There are also more detailed bilateral Concordats between the Scottish Executive and individual Government Departments, which can be viewed on the Scottish Executive's website. The Concordats are non-legally binding agreements whose purpose is to facilitate good relations between the administrations. A series of Devolution Guidance Notes setting out best practice and policy was published by the former Department for Constitutional Affairs after consultation with the devolved administrations.
What happens if there are disputes between the Government and the Scottish Executive?
Part II of the Memorandum of Understanding sets out arrangements for dispute resolution. These provisions provide a basis for the Government to consider devolved legislation and the actions of devolved administrations and to seek to resolve questions of competence by informal dialogue with those administrations.
The Scotland Act contains provisions for settling questions of vires i.e. determining the legal powers of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Executive Ministers by reference by a Law Officer to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (the members of whom include senior judges from Scotland as well as England and Wales). Although the Government is prepared to use these powers if necessary, it sees them very much as a matter of last resort. The Law Officers have not had to refer any cases to the Judicial Committee. Under the Government's programme of constitutional reform it is proposed to transfer this jurisdiction to the new UK Supreme Court.
Where can I view a copy of the Scotland Act 1998?
You can view a copy of the Scotland Act 1998 as passed on the website of Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Please note that this does not provide information about any amendments to the Act. Statutory instruments made under the Scotland Act can be found at www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk.
How many Scottish MPs are there?
Following the General Election on 5 May 2005 the number of MPs representing Scottish constituencies at Westminster was reduced from 72 to 59.. The Government accepted from the outset that devolution removed the need for special consideration for Scotland in terms of representation in Parliament and that electoral quotas in Scottish constituencies should be brought into line with those in England.
Who decided which seats were to disappear?
It is the responsibility of the Boundary Commission for Scotland an independent advisory public body to keep under review the boundaries of Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland. Its Fifth Periodic Report, published in November 2004, an be found at www.bcomm-scotland.gov.uk. The recommendations in this for the new Scottish constituencies for Westminster were accepted without amendment by the Secretary of State for Scotland and agreed by the UK Parliament in February 2005.
Why has the number of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament not been reduced in line with the reduction in MPs?
Following a wide-ranging public consultation which showed strong support for retaining the present size of the Scottish Parliament, the then Secretary of State for Scotland, Helen Liddell, announced in December 2002 that the Government had decided to break the link between the Westminster and Holyrood constituencies to retain 129 MSPs. The Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004 made the necessary legislative changes.
Won't having different boundaries for UK and Scottish Parliament constituencies cause serious problems?
This was one of the matters considered by the Commission on Boundary Differences and Voting Systems (the Arbuthnott Commission) which was set up by the Secretary of State for Scotland in July 2004. It reported to the Secretary of State and the First Minister on 19 January 2006. Details of the commission's work can be found on its website at www.arbuthnottcommission.gov.uk. The report is being considered carefully by the Government, who will respond to it in due course.
What responsibility does the Secretary of State have for elections in Scotland?
The Secretary of State for Scotland is responsible for the conduct of Parliamentary elections in Scotland and for the franchise (including at Local Government elections) in Scotland.
The Secretary of State for Scotland is also responsible for the funding of Parliamentary elections in Scotland and for accounting for those funds.
Policy, including legislation governing elections to the Scottish Parliament, is the responsibility of the Scotland Office. The Scotland Office works closely with the rest of the Ministry of Justice on policy governing UK and European Parliamentary elections.
Does the Secretary of State have any responsibility for local elections?
Local Government elections in Scotland are devolved and the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. For more information visit the Scottish Executive website.
Where can I find out more about voting?
The Electoral Commission is the best source of information about your right to vote. It can provide details of:
- who is entitled to vote;
- how and when you can register to vote; and
- how to cast a vote if you can't get to your polling station on election day.
In addition, it explains who is entitled to stand as a candidate in UK elections, gives information about applying to register a Political Party, how donations should be registered and how candidates and Election Agents can claim expenses. Click here to go to the Electoral Commission's website.