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Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland

November 16, 2023

"Scotland Office" redirects here. For the pre-1999 body, see Scottish Office.

The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Oifis Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba), often referred to as, and formerly officially called, 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.

Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland
Oifis Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba

Dover House, the historic Whitehall base of the Scotland Office in London
Department overview
Preceding Department
TypeMinisterial department
JurisdictionGovernment of the United Kingdom
Headquarters
  • Edinburgh
    • Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh, EH8 8FT
  • London
Annual budget£8 million for 2011–12[1]
Secretary of State responsible
Parent departmentMinistry of Justice[citation needed]
Websitegov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-secretary-of-state-for-scotland

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).

Role 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.[2]

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.[3]

Ministers edit

The Scotland Office Ministers are as follows:[4]

Minister Portrait Rank Portfolio
Alister Jack MP   Secretary of State Overall responsibility; custodian of the Scottish devolution settlement; represent Scottish interests within the UK Government; advocate for the UK Government’s policies in Scotland; promote partnership between the UK Government and the Scottish Government, as well as relations between the UK and Scottish Parliaments.
John Lamont MP   Parliamentary Under Secretary of State TBD
Lord Offord of Garvel   Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
(unpaid) 		TBD

Location edit

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.[5] 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.

Management edit

The following have been head of the Scotland Office (since 2009, this position has been called Director of the Scotland Office):[6]

  • 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[7]
  • 2020–present: Laurence Rockey[8]

See also edit

References edit

  • The Scottish Secretaries, David Torrance. (Birlinn 2006)
  1. ^ (PDF). London: HM Treasury. 2010. p. 88. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Boundary Commission for Scotland".
  3. ^ "'Scotland Office' name change to make it more British".
  4. ^ "Our ministers". GOV.UK. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Flagship UK Government Hub in Edinburgh named 'Queen Elizabeth House'".
  6. ^ The dates and names prior to 2020 are taken from their entries in Who's Who.
  7. ^ "Gillian McGregor CBE". Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Laurence Rockey". Retrieved 10 August 2023.

External links edit

  • Official website  

November 16, 2023
office, secretary, state, scotland, scotland, office, redirects, here, 1999, body, scottish, office, scottish, gaelic, oifis, rùnaire, stàite, alba, often, referred, formerly, officially, called, scotland, office, department, majesty, government, headed, secre. Scotland Office redirects here For the pre 1999 body see Scottish Office The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland Scottish Gaelic Oifis Runaire Staite na h Alba often referred to as and formerly officially called 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 Office of the Secretary of State for ScotlandOifis Runaire Staite na h AlbaRoyal arms used by the Scotland OfficeDover House the historic Whitehall base of the Scotland Office in LondonDepartment overviewPreceding DepartmentScottish OfficeTypeMinisterial departmentJurisdictionGovernment of the United KingdomHeadquartersEdinburgh Queen Elizabeth House Edinburgh EH8 8FT London Dover House Whitehall London SW1A 2AUAnnual budget 8 million for 2011 12 1 Secretary of State responsibleThe Rt Hon Alister Jack MP Secretary of State for ScotlandParent departmentMinistry of Justice citation needed Websitegov wbr uk wbr government wbr organisations wbr office of the secretary of state for scotlandThe 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 Contents 1 Role 2 History 3 Ministers 4 Location 5 Management 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksRole editThe 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 2 History editUntil 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 3 Ministers editThe Scotland Office Ministers are as follows 4 Minister Portrait Rank PortfolioAlister Jack MP nbsp Secretary of State Overall responsibility custodian of the Scottish devolution settlement represent Scottish interests within the UK Government advocate for the UK Government s policies in Scotland promote partnership between the UK Government and the Scottish Government as well as relations between the UK and Scottish Parliaments John Lamont MP nbsp Parliamentary Under Secretary of State TBDLord Offord of Garvel nbsp Parliamentary Under Secretary of State unpaid TBDLocation editThe 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 5 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 nbsp Dover House London base from Whitehall nbsp Queen Elizabeth House Edinburgh base since 2020 nbsp Rear of Dover House from Horseguards Parade nbsp 1 Melville Crescent Edinburgh base 1999 2020 Management editThe following have been head of the Scotland Office since 2009 this position has been called Director of the Scotland Office 6 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 7 2020 present Laurence Rockey 8 See also editGovernment of the United KingdomReferences editThe Scottish Secretaries David Torrance Birlinn 2006 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 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 External links editOfficial website nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland amp oldid 1182482354, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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