Scotland Office

Scotland Office
An Oifis Albannach

Royal Arms in Scotland, as used by HMG
Department overview
Formed	2003
Preceding Department	Scottish Office
Jurisdiction	Scotland
Headquarters	1 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh, EH3 7HW (in Scotland); Dover House, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2AU (in Westminster)
Annual budget	£8 million for 2011–12[1]
Minister responsible	Rt Hon David Mundell MP, Secretary of State for Scotland
Website	Scotland Office

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The Scotland Office (An Oifis Albannach in Scottish Gaelic) is a UK Government Department headed by the Secretary of State for Scotland and responsible for Scottish affairs. Its role combines with that of the Ministry of Justice in HM Government.^[2]

Role

The office is responsible for the representation of Scotland and scottish affairs in HM Government, facilitating the smooth operation of devolution, liaising between the UK Government and the Scottish Government at Edinburgh and the administering of certain reserved matters of government relating to Scotland.

History

Until the advent of the Scottish Parliament and the devolved Scottish Government, the precursor to the Scottish 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 and it, along with the Wales Office, was then absorbed into the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), which in turn became 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.

On the 21st of October 2015, the Scotland Office re-branded their facebook profile to 'UK Government for Scotland.'^[3]

In addition to changing the Scotland Office Facebook page, the Scotland Office Twitter handle changed to @UKGovScotland at the same time.

Ministers

The Scotland Office Ministers are as follows:^[4]

Under the Blair Ministry and Brown Ministry, the office of Secretary of State for Scotland was often held along with another Secretariat of State by a member of the Cabinet:

• Alistair Darling (2003–2006), also Secretary of State for Transport;
• Douglas Alexander (2006–2007), also Secretary of State for Transport; and
• Des Browne (2007–2008), also Secretary of State for Defence.

Danny Alexander was briefly the first Secretary of State in the Cameron Ministry (in May 2010), prior to his appointment as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, succeeding David Laws.

Michael Crockart (a Liberal Democrat MP) resigned his post as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State on 9 December 2010 over the United Kingdom Government's plan for an increase in tuition fees.

Location

Dover House, the headquarters of the Scotland Office in Whitehall.

The governmental department is based at Dover House, Whitehall and engages around 40 permanent staff. Dover House also serves as a base for staff of the Scottish Government in London.

There is also an office of the department located in Melville Crescent, Edinburgh.

The Advocate General, who is a Crown Law Officer, shares the same offices in London and Edinburgh.

See also

• Government of the United Kingdom

References

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

External links

• Official website

Scotland Office Headquarters: Dover House, Whitehall, London and Melville Crescent, Edinburgh Secretary of State David Mundell Under-Secretary of State The Lord Dunlop Advocate General The Lord Keen of Elie Predecessor: Scottish Office

Secretaries of State for Scotland Scotland Office Secretary of State for Scotland 1707–1746 Erskine Douglas Erskine Graham Ker Vacant Hay Secretary for Scotland 1885–1926 Gordon-Lennox Trevelyan Ramsay Balfour Kerr Trevelyan Bruce Murray Hope Sinclair McKinnon-Wood Tennant Munro Munro Ferguson Adamson Gilmour Secretary of State for Scotland 1926–1999 Gilmour Adamson Sinclair Collins Elliot Colville Brown Johnston Primrose Westwood Woodburn McNeil Stuart Maclay Noble Ross Campbell Ross Millan Younger Rifkind Lang Forsyth Dewar Secretary of State for Scotland 1999–present Reid Liddell Darling* Alexander* Browne** Murphy Alexander Moore Carmichael Mundell *Also Secretary of State for Transport; **Secretary of State for Defence

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