Scottish Government

The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in the capital city, Edinburgh. It has been described as one of the most powerful devolved governments globally, with full legislative control over the economy, education, healthcare, justice and the legal system, rural affairs, housing, the crown estate, the environment, the fire service, equal opportunities, the transportation network, and tax, amongst others.
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. Only the first minister and their deputy, cabinet secretaries, the law officers, the permanent secretary and Minister for Parliamentary Business serve within the Scottish Cabinet.
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.
==History==
===Pre–1707===
Prior to the Treaty of Union 1707, the Crown in Scotland was the most important element of government in the Kingdom of Scotland despite the many royal minorities. In the late Middle Ages, it saw much of the aggrandisement associated with the New Monarchs elsewhere in Europe.. Theories of constitutional monarchy and resistance were articulated by Scots, particularly George Buchanan, in the 16th century, but James VI of Scotland advanced the theory of the divine 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 the Union of the Crowns in 1603.. The Parliament of Scotland also emerged as a major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy. 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.. 
===Post–1707===
 
 
The signing of the 1707 Treaty of Union ended the political independence of Scotland. The Parliament of Scotland, the countries legislature situated at Parliament House, Edinburgh, was subsumed into the Parliament of Great Britain which would be based in London. Following the ratification of the Treaty of Union, Parliament House became the seat of the Supreme Courts of Scotland in which it remains today. Under the terms of the Treaty of Union, various elements of independence from England was retained for Scotland, such as a separate education and legal system (including the Scottish court system – Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary) as was the countries church and religion. Additionally, the Crown of Scotland and the Honours of Scotland were to remain in Scotland, as were all parliamentary and other official records.
In 1885, many domestic policy functions relating to Scotland were brought into the responsibility of the Scottish Office, a department of the Government of the United Kingdom which was headed by a Secretary for Scotland, later the Secretary 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 Minister James Callaghan, held a referendum on Scottish devolution in 1979. The referendum would have enacted the Scotland Act 1978, and would have created a Scottish Assembly with limited legislative powers. There would have been a Scottish Executive headed by a "First Secretary", taking over some of the functions of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Meetings of the Scottish Assembly would have been held at the Old 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.
The 1979 Conservative Party government, headed by Prime Minister Margaret 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. 
===Scotland Act 1998===
 
In 1997, the Labour Party returned to government, with Tony Blair as Prime Minister, and had included the establishment of a Scottish Parliament in its manifesto for the 1997 general election, which they won with a landslide majority of 179. Blair held a referendum 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 the Scotland 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, and full legislative control over areas such as healthcare, education, policing, Scots law, environment, housing, local government, culture and some aspects of transportation, amongst others. 
Subsequently, the Scotland Acts of 2012 and 2016 transferred powers over some taxation including Income Tax, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, Landfill Tax, Aggregates Levy and Air Departure Tax, drink driving limits, Scottish Parliament and local authority elections, some social security powers, the Crown Estate of Scotland, some aspects of the benefits system, some aspects of the energy network in Scotland including renewable energy, energy efficiency and onshore oil and gas licensing, some aspects of equality legislation in Scotland and gaming machine licensing. 
The first Scottish Executive was formed by First Minister Donald Dewar as a coalition between the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrats. During this period, ministerial appointees were divided into ministers and deputy ministers. The Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition continued under subsequent First Ministers Henry McLeish and Jack McConnell. Following the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, Alex Salmond became the first politician from the Scottish National Party to lead the Scottish Government. He became first minister in 2007 and served in office until his resignation in 2014, with his former deputy first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, succeeding him in November 2014. 
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. 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. In September 2014, the Scottish Government held a referendum on Scotland regaining its independence, following the signing of the Edinburgh 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.
The Scottish Government's main headquarters are based at St Andrew's House in the capital city, Edinburgh. Additionally, the Scottish Government has offices at Victoria Quay, Saughton House and Bute House (the official residence of the first minister), all located in Edinburgh, with an additional office at 5 Atlantic Quay in Glasgow. 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.
From 1 January 2021, the Scottish Government instructed all Scottish legislation be legally required to keep in regulatory alignment in devolved competences with future European Union law following the end of the Brexit transition period which ended on 31 December 2020 after the Scottish Parliament passed the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2020.
==Functions==
===Parliament===
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.
The Scottish Government is directly responsible for implementing the laws 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 in Scots law following receiving royal assent from the monarch. Each law is approved by the monarch using the Great Seal of Scotland.
Each year, the Scottish Government produces its annual budget for public spending which is presented to members of the Scottish Parliament for consideration. The Budget Bill is scrutinised by the parliamentary 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.
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 the presiding 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. 
=== National Performance Framework ===
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. Each of the National Outcomes is measured by a number of indicators and associated data sets.UWS-Oxfam Partnership, Towards a Scotland that cares: A new National Outcome on care for the National Performance Framework, published November 2021, accessed 20 February 2023
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.
===Legislation===
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.
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.
===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.
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.
==Structure==
=== The Scottish Government ===
====Executive branch====
File:John Swinney - First Minister (53720492021) (3x4).jpg|John Swinney (SNP) First Minister and Keeper of the Great Seal
Kate Forbes - 53727242856 (cropped).jpg|Kate Forbes (SNP) Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
John-Paul Marks 2022.jpg|John-Paul Marks Permanent Secretary
Official Portrait of Dorothy Bain QC 2021 (cropped).jpg|Dorothy Bain Lord Advocate
Official Portrait of Ruth Charteris QC.png|Ruth Charteris Solicitor General
Shona Robison - 53727584039 (cropped).jpg|Shona Robison (SNP) Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
Angus Robertson - 53727242996 (cropped).jpg|Angus Robertson (SNP) Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution and External Affairs
Angela Constance - 53727458028 (cropped).jpg|Angela Constance (SNP) Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs
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".UK Legislation, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/1750/article/2 The Scotland Act 1998 (Transfer of Functions to the Scottish Ministers etc. ) Order 1999, Article 2], accessed on 20 November 2024 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.
Additionally, the Scottish Government is supported by a permanent secretary, two law officers – the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland – who serve as the chief legal advisers to the government, and the chief 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.
====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. Additional functions of the first minister include promoting and representing Scotland in an official capacity, at home and abroad. 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.
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.
The office is held by John Swinney of the Scottish National Party since 7 May 2024.
====Deputy First Minister====
 
The first minister is supported by the deputy 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 during First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament. Whilst serving as deputy first minister, the office holder holds another cabinet position. Currently, Kate Forbes, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic, serves as the deputy first minister.
====Cabinet====
 
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. Normally meetings are held on Tuesday afternoons in Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister. Members of the Scottish Cabinet receive blue despatch boxes for their use while in office.
There are currently two sub-committees of cabinet:
* Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation
* Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR) Cabinet Sub-Committee
====Law officers====
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. 
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. 
The officeholder is regarded as one of the Great Officers of State of Scotland, with the current Lord Advocate being Dorothy Bain KC, who was nominated by first minister Nicola Sturgeon in June 2021.
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. 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. The incumbent Solicitor General for Scotland is Ruth Charteris KC.
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.
=== 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.
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.
The civil service is a matter reserved to the British parliament at Westminster (rather than devolved to Holyrood): Scottish Government civil servants work within the rules and customs of His Majesty's Civil Service, but serve the Scottish Government rather than British government.
====Permanent Secretary====
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. The current permanent secretary is John-Paul Marks, who succeeded Leslie Evans in January 2022.
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.
==== 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.
==== Directorates ====
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:
*Communities Directorates
*Corporate Directorates
*Economy Directorates
*Education and Justice Directorates
*Health and Social Care Directorates
*Net Zero Directorates
*Exchequer Directorates
*Strategy and External Affairs Directorates
Supporting these directorates are a variety of other corporate service teams and professional groups.
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service serves as an independent prosecution service in Scotland, and is a ministerial department of the Scottish Government. It is headed by the Lord Advocate, who is, along with the procurators fiscal, responsible for prosecution under Scots law.
==== Executive Agencies ====
To deliver its work, there are 10 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.
==== Public Bodies ====
The Scottish Government is also responsible for a large number of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). These include executive NDPBs (e.g. Scottish Enterprise); advisory NDPBs (e.g. the Scottish Law Commission); tribunals (e.g. the Children's Panel and Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland); and nationalised 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 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.
The Scottish Government also operates local offices and specialist facilities around Scotland, for example those used by Rural Payments & Services and Marine Scotland.
St Andrew's House, Edinburgh (2496436039) (cropped).jpg|St Andrew's House, headquarters of the Scottish Government
Victoria Quay (2473783476).jpg|Victoria Quay, offices of the Scottish Government
Bute House, Charlotte Square - geograph.org.uk - 1325869.jpg|Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister
Atlantic Quay - Scottish Government - Glasgow - panoramio.jpg|Scottish Government offices at 5 Atlantic Quay in Glasgow 
Saughton House - geograph.org.uk - 3505977.jpg|Government offices at Saughton House in Edinburgh 
==International network==
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. 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:
* Beijing (Scottish Government Beijing Office, British Embassy)
* Berlin (Scottish Government Berlin Office)
* Brussels (Scotland House Brussels)
* Copenhagen (Scottish Government Copenhagen Office)
* 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:
*Healthcare – NHS Scotland, mental health, dentistry, social care
*Education – pre-school, primary, secondary, further, higher and lifelong education, as well as educational training policy and programmes
* Student Awards Agency for Scotland 
* Scottish Public Pensions Agency 
*Scots law and justice – civil justice, civil law and procedure, courts, criminal justice, criminal law and procedure, debt and bankruptcy, family law, legal aid, the legal profession, property law and Disclosure Scotland
*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
*Policing and the Scottish Prison Service 
*Planning system in Scotland
*Rural Affairs (including Scotland's Environmental and Rural Services – Cairngorms National Park Authority, Crofting Commission, Scottish Forestry, Forestry and Land Scotland, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, NatureScot and Deer Commission for Scotland)
* Housing – housing policy, Scottish Housing Regulator, affordable homes, homelessness and homelessness legislation, child poverty, security of tenure, energy efficiency, homeownership, short assured tenancy, rented housing and rent control, Town Centre First, social rents, private sector housing security, Tenancy deposit schemes, Scottish Social Housing Charter and the Scottish Housing Quality Standard
* Accountant in Bankruptcy 
*Agriculture, forestry and fisheries – most aspects of animal welfare, but not including animal testing and research
*Sport and the arts – Creative Scotland, the National Gallery of Scotland, library and museum collections, the National Museum of Scotland, national performing companies and SportScotland, the national agency for sport
*Consumer advocacy and advice
*Tourism – VisitScotland and promotion of major events in Scotland
*Economic development
*Freedom of Information (FOI) requests
Subsequently, the Scotland Acts of 2012 and 2016 transferred powers over:
*Some taxation powers – full control of Income Tax on income earned through employment, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, Landfill Tax, Aggregates Levy, Air Departure Tax, Revenue Scotland
*Drink driving limits
*Air weapons 
*Additional borrowing powers, up to the sum of £5 billion 
*Transport police in Scotland 
*Road signs, speed limits and abortion rights in Scotland 
* Powers over Income Tax rates and bands on non-savings and non-dividend income
*Scottish Parliament and local authority elections
*Some social security powers (Adult Disability Payment, Pension Age Disability Payment, Funeral Support Payment, Carer Support Payment, Young Carer Grant, Job Start Payment, Winter Heating Payment) 
*Crown Estate of Scotland – management of the Crown Estate's economic assets in Scotland
*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)
* Extended powers over Employment Support and the housing aspect of Universal Credit
*Some aspects of the energy network in Scotland – renewable energy, energy efficiency and onshore oil and gas licensing
* The right to receive half of the VAT raised in Scotland.
*Some aspects of equality legislation in Scotland
*Gaming machine licensing
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.
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.
The most prominent reserved matters that remain under the exclusive control of the Parliament of the United Kingdom are:
*The Constitution – Acts of Union, The Crown, Devolution Settlement
*Foreign Policy
*National Security and Defence
*Economic policy
*Immigration and Nationality
*Trade and industry
*Energy
*Most aspects of Social Security
*Civil Service
*Consumer rights
*International Development
*Copyright
*Telecommunications and Postal services
*Broadcasting
*Reserved taxes
*Currency
*Pensions
== See also ==
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
== Notes ==
== References ==
== External links ==
* 
 
Category:Political office-holders in Scotland
Category:1999 establishments in Scotland
Category:2000s in Scotland
Category:2010s in Scotland
Category:Government of the United Kingdom by country
Category:Scottish devolution
Category:Lists of government ministers of Scotland
Category:Organisations based in Edinburgh
Category:Scottish Parliament