History of office Acts of Union, 1707 The post was first created after the
Acts of Union 1707 created the
Kingdom of Great Britain from the
Kingdom of England and the
Kingdom of Scotland. It was abolished in 1746, following the
Jacobite rising of 1745. Scottish affairs thereafter were managed by the
lord advocate until 1827, when responsibility passed to the
Home Office. In 1885 the post of secretary for Scotland was re-created, with the incumbent usually a member of the
Cabinet. In 1926 this post was upgraded to a full
secretary of state appointment.
Devolution, 1999 After the
1999 Scottish devolution, the powers of the
Scottish Office were divided, with most transferred to the
Scottish Government or to other
British government departments, leaving only a limited role for the
Scotland Office. From June 2003 to October 2008, the holder of the office of secretary of state for Scotland also held another Cabinet post concurrently, leading to claims that the Scottish role was seen as a part-time ministry.
Functions Reduced responsibility With the advent of legislative devolution for Scotland in 1999, the role of secretary of state for Scotland was diminished. Most of the functions vested in the office since administrative devolution in the 19th century were transferred to the newly established Scottish Ministers upon the opening of the
Scottish Parliament, or to other UK government ministers. Most of the functions and powers of the secretary of state for Scotland transferred to the
first minister of Scotland as the head of the
Scottish Government.
Donald Dewar served as the first first minister of Scotland between 1999–2000, having previously served as the secretary of state for Scotland between 1997–1999. However, the secretary of state does represent Scotland in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom on matters that are not devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and also holds Scotland Questions on the first Wednesday of every month between 11:30 am and 12 noon, when any member of Parliament can ask a question on any matter relating to Scotland. However, devolved issues are not usually raised by MPs, as these are decided solely by Scottish Government policy, and influenced, discussed and voted on by
members of the Scottish Parliament in
Edinburgh. Moreover, the secretary of state for Scotland cannot introduce any bill or legislation in the UK Parliament relating to a devolved matter under the convention that the UK Government will not introduce legislation on devolved areas without the agreement of the Scottish Parliament. The secretary of state is also the group leader of the Scottish MPs from the government party.
Scottish Government collaboration and Scottish Secretary
David Mundell at the 2016
British–Irish Council summit in Glasgow (Scotland) The office mainly acts as a go-between for the UK and Scottish Governments and Parliaments. However, due to the secretary's position as a minister in the British government, the convention of
Cabinet collective responsibility applies, and as such the post is usually viewed as being a partisan one to promote the UK government's decision-making in Scotland, as adherence to the convention precludes doing anything else. With the rise of the
Scottish National Party (SNP) in both the Scottish Parliament and the
British Parliament and the resultant interest in Scottish Independence, the secretary of state's role has also subsequently increased in prominence. The
Scotland Office itself has received a cumulative increase in budget of 20% from 2013 to 2017, with a 14.4% increase in 2015/16 alone.
Responsibilities The UK government's website lists the secretary of state for Scotland's responsibilities as being: • The secretary of state for Scotland is the UK Government Cabinet Minister representing Scotland. • They act as the custodian of the Scottish devolution settlement. • They represent Scottish interests within the UK Government • They 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. , the London headquarters of the
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland This seeming lack of responsibility has in recent years seen calls from opposition MPs for the scrapping of the role and the Scotland Office. in a department into which
Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a minister of state for England with responsibility for
English local government. More broadly, the UK Government advocates that all UK Government cabinet ministers with responsibility for a territorial secretary of state position are responsible for: • the smooth running of the devolution settlements and act as the lynchpin of the relationship between the devolved government and HM Government • handling legislation as it affects the territory • representing the territory’s interests in cabinet and cabinet committees • responding to parliamentary interests in territorial affairs • transmitting the block grant to the devolved administration • supporting collaboration between HM Government and the devolved administration • promoting the interests of the territory ==List of Scottish secretaries==