Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland
Royal arms used by the Scotland Office | |
Dover House, the historic Whitehall base of the Scotland Office in London | |
Department overview | |
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Preceding Department | |
Type | Ministerial department |
Jurisdiction | Government of the United Kingdom |
Headquarters |
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Employees | 85 FTE (2023)[1] |
Annual budget | £8 million for 2011–12[2] |
Secretary of State responsible | |
Website | gov |
This article is part of a series on |
Politics of the United Kingdom |
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United Kingdom portal |
The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, often referred to as the Scotland Office, 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
Responsibilities
The office is responsible for the representation of
The department sponsors one non-departmental public body, the Boundary Commission for Scotland.[3]
History
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
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
Ministers
The Scotland Office Ministers are as follows, with cabinet members in bold:[5]
Minister | Portrait | Office | Portfolio |
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The Rt Hon. Alister Jack DL MP | Secretary of State for Scotland | The Secretary of State for Scotland is the UK Government Cabinet Minister representing Scotland. They act as the custodian of the Scottish devolution settlement, represent Scottish interests within the UK Government, and advocate for the UK Government’s policies in Scotland.
They also promote partnership between the UK Government and the Scottish Government, as well as relations between the UK and Scottish Parliaments.[6] | |
John Lamont MP | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland | Supporting the Secretary of State in their duties. | |
The Rt Hon. Lord Cameron of Lochiel |
Location
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.
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Dover House, London base, from Whitehall
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Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh base since 2020
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Rear ofHorseguards Parade
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1 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh base (1999-2020)
Management
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
References
- The Scottish Secretaries, David Torrance. (Birlinn 2006)
- GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
- ^ Spending Review 2010 (PDF). London: HM Treasury. 2010. p. 88. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
- ^ "Boundary Commission for Scotland".
- ^ "'Scotland Office' name change to make it more British".
- ^ "Our ministers". GOV.UK. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ "Secretary of State for Scotland". GOV.UK. UK Government. Retrieved 11 March 2024. Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
- ^ "Flagship UK Government Hub in Edinburgh named 'Queen Elizabeth House'".
- ^ The dates and names prior to 2020 are taken from their entries in Who's Who.
- ^ "Gillian McGregor CBE". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
- ^ "Laurence Rockey". Retrieved 10 August 2023.