"Scotland Office" redirects here. For the pre-1999 body, see
Scottish Office
.
Ministerial department of the UK Government
The
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland
, often referred to as the
Scotland Office
(
Scottish Gaelic
:
An Oifis Albannach
), is a
department
of
His Majesty's Government
headed by the
Secretary of State for Scotland
and responsible for
Scottish affairs
that lie within HM Government's responsibility.
The department evolved from the
Scottish Office
which was formed in 1885. It was renamed the Scotland Office in 1999 following
devolution in Scotland
, where the majority of its responsibilities were transferred to the
Scottish Executive
(since renamed the Scottish Government).
Responsibilities
[
edit
]
The office is responsible for the representation of
Scotland
and Scottish affairs in the UK Government, facilitating the smooth operation of
devolution
, liaising between the central Government and the
Scottish Government
at
Edinburgh
and the administering of certain
reserved matters
of government relating to Scotland.
The department sponsors one non-departmental public body, the
Boundary Commission for Scotland
.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Until the advent of the
Scottish Parliament
and the devolved Scottish Government, the
Scottish Office
(the precursor to the Scotland Office) was a major UK government department dealing with most aspects of the domestic governance of Scotland, a position known as "administrative devolution".
Since devolution, its powers are limited to those relating to reserved matters that are not dealt with by other departments of HM Government as well as relations with the devolved bodies. Along with the
Wales Office
, the Scotland Office has shared administrative functions first with the 2007
Department for Constitutional Affairs
and later the
Ministry of Justice
. The Secretary of State for Scotland also holds certain powers of oversight over the operation of the Scottish Parliament under the
Scotland Act 1998
.
Donald Dewar
, who held the office from 1997?99, resigned to become the inaugural
First Minister of Scotland
following devolution on 17 May 1999. Under the
Blair Ministry
and
Brown Ministry
, the office of
Secretary of State for Scotland
was sometimes held along with another Cabinet role. These cases were
Alistair Darling
, who served as Secretary of State for Scotland between 2003-06 while also being
Secretary of State for Transport
. When
Douglas Alexander
took on the role in 2006 he also held the additional Transport office. His successor
Des Browne
, who was Secretary of State from 2007?08, was simultaneously the
Secretary of State for Defence
.
Jim Murphy
was appointed to the office in 2008, which remained his only government position until the
Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition
gained power in 2010. The position was then held by
Liberal Democrat
Members of Parliament until the
Conservative government
came into office following the
2015 general election
.
Between 2015-18, the Scotland Office rebranded much of its output under a UK Government in Scotland branding, with the office itself becoming known as the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Similar changes were made in relation to the
Wales Office
.
[4]
Ministers
[
edit
]
The Scotland Office Ministers are as follows, with cabinet members in bold:
[5]
Location
[
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]
The department is based across two sites, one in Edinburgh and the other in London.
Dover House
in
Whitehall
has been used as the London base of the office and its predecessors since 1885. It also provides accommodation for the
Office of the Advocate General for Scotland
and other government bodies.
Since 2020, its base in Edinburgh is Queen Elizabeth House, which was earmarked to be a UK Government hub in the city bringing together around 3,000 UK Government civil servants across a variety of government departments.
[7]
Between 1999 and 2020, it was located in premises at
Melville Crescent
.
Prior to devolution, the Scottish Office had a number of facilities in Scotland that are now generally operated by the devolved Scottish Government. This includes
St Andrew's House
and
Victoria Quay
.
-
Dover House
, London base, from
Whitehall
-
Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh base since 2020
-
-
1 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh base (1999-2020)
Management
[
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]
The following have been head of the Scotland Office (since 2009, this position has been called
Director of the Scotland Office
):
[8]
- 1999?2002: Ian William Gordon (as Head of Department)
- 2002?2005: David Jonathan Crawley (as Head of Department)
- 2005?2007: James Richmond Wildgoose (as Head of Department)
- 2007?2009: David Fraser Middleton (as Head of Department; later CBE)
- 2009?2012: Alisdair Douglas McIntosh
- 2012?2015: Alun Trevor Bernard Evans, CBE
- 2015?2017: Francesca Osowska
- 2017?2020: Gillian McGregor, CBE
[9]
- 2020?present: Laurence Rockey
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- The Scottish Secretaries
, David Torrance. (Birlinn 2006)
External links
[
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]
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Secretaries of State for Scotland
1707?1746
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Secretaries for Scotland
1885?1926
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Secretaries of State for Scotland
(pre-devolution)
1926?1999
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Secretaries of State for Scotland
(post-devolution)
1999?present
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Referendums
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devolved bodies
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Scottish parliament commissions
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Devolution legislation
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