Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland

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

Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland

Royal arms used by the Scotland Office
Dover House, the historicWhitehallbase of the Scotland Office in London
Department overview
Preceding Department	Scottish Office
Type	Ministerial department
Jurisdiction	Government of the United Kingdom
Headquarters	Edinburgh Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh, EH8 8FT London Dover House,Whitehall, London, SW1A 2AU
Employees	85FTE(2023)
Annual budget	£8 million for 2011–12
Secretary of State responsible	Ian MurrayMP,Secretary of State for Scotland
Website	gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-secretary-of-state-for-scotland

TheOffice of the Secretary of State for Scotland,often referred to as theScotland Office(Scottish Gaelic:An Oifis Albannach), is adepartmentofHis Majesty's Governmentheaded by thesecretary of state for Scotlandand responsible forScottish affairsthat lie within HM Government's responsibility.

The department evolved from theScottish Officewhich was formed in 1885. It was renamed the Scotland Office in 1999 followingdevolution in Scotland,where the majority of its responsibilities were transferred to theScottish Executive(since renamed the Scottish Government).

Responsibilities

The office is responsible for the representation ofScotlandand Scottish affairs in the UK Government, facilitating the smooth operation ofdevolution,liaising between the central Government and theScottish GovernmentatEdinburghand the administering of certainreserved mattersof government relating to Scotland.

The department sponsors one non-departmental public body, theBoundary Commission for Scotland.

History

Until the advent of theScottish Parliamentand the devolved Scottish Government, theScottish 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 theWales Office,the Scotland Office has shared administrative functions first with the 2007Department for Constitutional Affairsand later theMinistry of Justice.The Secretary of State for Scotland also holds certain powers of oversight over the operation of the Scottish Parliament under theScotland Act 1998.

Donald Dewar,who held the office from 1997–99, resigned to become the inauguralFirst Minister of Scotlandfollowing devolution on 17 May 1999. Under theBlair MinistryandBrown Ministry,the office ofsecretary of state for Scotlandwas sometimes held along with another Cabinet role. These cases wereAlistair Darling,who served as Secretary of State for Scotland between 2003-06 while also beingSecretary of State for Transport.WhenDouglas Alexandertook on the role in 2006 he also held the additional Transport office. His successorDes Browne,who was Secretary of State from 2007–08, was simultaneously thesecretary of state for defence.Jim Murphywas appointed to the office in 2008, which remained his only government position until theConservative-Liberal Democrat coalitiongained power in 2010. The position was then held byLiberal DemocratMembers of Parliament until theConservative governmentcame into office following the2015 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 theWales Office.

Ministers

The Scotland Office ministers are as follows, with cabinet members in bold:

Minister	Portrait	Office	Portfolio
The Rt Hon.Ian MurrayMP		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.
Kirsty McNeillMP		Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland	Supporting the secretary of state in their duties.

Location

The department is based across two sites, one in Edinburgh and the other in London.Dover HouseinWhitehallhas been used as the London base of the office and its predecessors since 1885. It also provides accommodation for theOffice of the Advocate General for Scotlandand 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.Between 1999 and 2020, it was located in premises atMelville 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 includesSt Andrew's HouseandVictoria Quay.

• 
  Dover House,London base, fromWhitehall
• 
  Queen Elizabeth House, Edinburgh base since 2020
• 
  Rear ofDover HousefromHorseguards Parade
• 
  1 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh base (1999-2020)

Management

The following have been head of the Scotland Office (since 2009, this position has been calledDirector of the Scotland Office):

• 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
• 2020–present: Laurence Rockey

See also

• Government of the United Kingdom

References

• The Scottish Secretaries,David Torrance. (Birlinn 2006)

External links

• Official website