Scottish ministers
| Scottish Government | |
|---|---|
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Scottish Gaelic: Riaghaltas na h-Alba Scots: Scots Govrenment |
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| Overview | |
| Established | 1 July 1999 |
| Polity | Scotland |
| Leader | First Minister |
| Appointed by | First Minister appointed by Monarch after parliamentary approval, further ministerial appointments by First Minister |
| Main organ | Scottish Cabinet |
| Responsible to | Scottish Parliament |
| Annual budget | £37.2 billion (2016–17) |
| Headquarters |
St Andrew's House Edinburgh |
| Website | http://www.gov.scot |
The Scottish Government (Scottish Gaelic: Riaghaltas na h-Alba; Scots: Scots Govrenment) is Scotland's devolved government. The government was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive under section 44(1) of the Scotland Act 1998, which created a devolved administration for Scotland in line with the result of the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. It was formally renamed in 2012 to the Scottish Government by section 12(1) of the Scotland Act 2012. The government consists of cabinet secretaries, who attend cabinet meetings, and ministers, who do not. It is led by the first minister, who selects the cabinet secretaries and ministers with approval of parliament.
The Scottish Government is responsible for devolved matters, and those not explicitly reserved to the British Parliament in Westminster, by Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998.
Devolved matters that were decided on by the Scotland Act 1998 included healthcare provision, education, justice, policing, rural affairs, economic development and transport. The Scottish Government also has administrative responsibility for some matters where it does not have legislative power. An example is Sections 36 & 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 which allow the Scottish Government to authorise power transmission lines and grant power generation consents.
In the aftermath of the Scottish independence Referendum in 2014, the Smith Commission was established to decide upon what matters should further be devolved given the increased hunger of the Scottish people for home rule. Some matters that were decided upon for devolution were some elements of Social Security, policing of transport, the Crown Estate in Scotland, road signage and speed limits and further elements of taxation.
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