Scottish Executive
The term
Scottish Executive is used in two different, but closely-related senses: to denote the
executive arm of
Scotland's national
legislature (i.e. the government of Scottish Ministers), but also, somewhat confusingly, to denote the
civil service supporting that executive.
The Scottish Executive (
Scottish Gaelic:
Riaghaltas na h-Alba), as established by the
Scotland Act 1998 is the executive arm of the
Scottish Parliament, in other words the
Scottish Government, a term used both by members of the Scottish Executive and by others (more details
below). It consists of a
First Minister, who leads the executive, and various ministers with individual
portfolios and remits. The Scottish Parliament nominates a member to be appointed as First Minister by the Queen. The First Minister then appoints ministers and junior ministers, subject to approval by the Parliament.
Similar to the
United Kingdom-wide form of government there is no division between executive and legislature, with the members of the Scottish Executive being chosen from amongst the
Members of the Scottish Parliament (except for the
Lord Advocate and
Solicitor General for Scotland, who need not be MSPs). The members of the Scottish Executive are assisted by a number of junior Scottish Ministers, also chosen from amongst the Members of the Parliament. The members of the Executive are therefore able to influence, and in practice dictate legislation in Scotland.
The Scottish Executive is currently formed from a
coalition between the
Labour Party and the
Scottish Liberal Democrats. The current First Minister is
Jack McConnell.
Ministers
The current Ministers are:
*
First Minister -
Jack McConnell*
Deputy First Minister,
Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning -
Nicol Stephen*
Minister for Justice -
Cathy Jamieson*
Minister for Health and Community Care -
Andy Kerr*
Minister for Education and Young People -
Peter Peacock*
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform -
Tom McCabe*
Minister for Environment and Rural Development -
Ross Finnie*
Minister for Communities -
Malcolm Chisholm*
Minister for Parliamentary Business -
Margaret Curran*
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport -
Patricia Ferguson*
Minister for Transport and Telecommunications -
Tavish Scott*
Lord Advocate -
Lord Boyd of Duncansby*
Solicitor General -
Elish Angiolini*
Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning -
Allan Wilson*
Deputy Minister for Justice -
Hugh Henry*
Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care -
Lewis Macdonald*
Deputy Minister for Education and Young People -
Robert Brown*
Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform -
George Lyon*
Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development -
Rhona Brankin*
Deputy Minister for Communities -
Johann Lamont*
Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Business -
George LyonFor previous holders of Ministerial office, see
List of Scottish Executive Ministerial Teams.
The term
Scottish Executive also denotes the
civil service supporting Scottish Ministers. According to the most recent (2006) [
1]reports, there are 15,263 civil servants working in core Scottish Executive departments and agencies. The civil service is a matter reserved to the UK government, rather than
devolved to the Scottish Parliament: Scottish Executive civil servants work within the rules and customs of the
United Kingdom civil service, but "owe their loyalty to the devolved administration rather than the
UK government" [
2].
The work of the Scottish Executive is carried out by a number of core departments:
*
Office of the Permanent Secretary*
Development Department*
Education Department*
Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department*
Environment and Rural Affairs Department*
Finance and Central Services Department*
Health Department*
Justice Department*
Legal and Parliamentary ServicesThere are also a number of
Executive Agencies established by Ministers as part of Executive departments, or as departments in their own right, to carry out a discrete area of work. Agencies are staffed by civil servants.
Two non-Ministerial departments answer directly to the Parliament:
*
General Register Office for Scotland*
Office of the Scottish Charity RegulatorAnd a number of
Non-Departmental Public Bodies.
The
Permanent Secretary supports the
First Minister and
Cabinet of
Scottish Ministers. The current encumbent is Sir
John Elvidge who took over from Sir
Muir Russell in 2003. John Elvidge is the most senior civil servant in Scotland and heads the management group of the Scottish Executive and his own department, the
Office of the Permanent Secretary (OPS).
The Permanent Secretary is answerable to the most senior civil servant in the UK, the
Cabinet Secretary, for his professional conduct. He thus has some measure of independence from Scottish Ministers, although his primary duty is to execute their instructions.
|
The arms of the Scottish Executive |
The Coat of Arms of the Scottish Executive was adapted from the
Royal Arms, but without the
motto, the
helm, the
mantling, the
crest, the war-cry above the crest, and the flags of
Scotland and of
England carried by the
supporters. Note also that in the
design of the above Arms of the Scottish Executive, both supporters are crowned with the
Crown of Scotland, whereas in the
Royal Arms, the Scottish unicorn is crowned with the Scottish Crown, and the English Lion is crowned with the British
Imperial State CrownIn January
2001, the then
Scottish First Minister the Rt Hon
Henry McLeish suggested changing the official name from "Scottish Executive" to "Scottish Government". The reaction from the UK Government in
London and from some
Labour Party members and MPs within
Scotland was hostile.
story from TelegraphAny change in formal title would require amendment of the
Scotland Act 1998.
"Scottish Government" remains an unofficial term to describe the Scottish Executive. It has no special
statutory meaning.
*
Politics of Scotland*
Politics of the United Kingdom*
Government of Scotland*
Talking Scotland*
Scottish Executive website
