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| Government Name: | Scottish Government |
| Nativename: | Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Riaghaltas na h-Alba Scots: Scots Govrenment |
| Border: | devolved |
| Image Size2: | 275px |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Address: | St Andrew's House 2 Regent Road Edinburgh EH1 3DG |
| Leader Title: | First Minister (John Swinney) |
| Appointed: | First Minister approved by Parliament, ceremonially appointed by the monarch |
| Budget: | £59.7 billion (2024–25)[1] |
| Main Organ: | Scottish Cabinet |
| Responsible: | Scottish Parliament |
The Scottish Government (Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Riaghaltas na h-Alba, in Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic pronounced as /ˈrˠiə.əl̪ˠt̪əs nə ˈhal̪ˠapə/) is the devolved government of Scotland.[2] It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution.[3] Its areas for responsibility of decision making and domestic policy in the country include the economy, education, healthcare, justice and the legal system, rural affairs, housing, the crown estate, the environment, the fire service, equal opportunities, the transportation network, and tax, amongst others.[4] [5]
The Scottish Government consists of the Scottish Ministers, which is used to describe their collective legal functions. The Scottish Government is accountable to the Scottish Parliament, which was also created by the Scotland Act 1998 with the first minister appointed by the monarch following a proposal by the Parliament. The responsibilities of the Scottish Parliament fall over matters that are not reserved in law to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Ministers are appointed by the first minister with the approval of the Scottish Parliament and the monarch from among the members of the Parliament. The Scotland Act 1998 makes provision for ministers and junior ministers, referred to by the current administration as Cabinet secretaries and ministers, in addition to two law officers: the lord advocate and the solicitor general for Scotland. Collectively the Scottish Ministers and the Civil Service staff that support the Scottish Government are formally referred to as the Scottish Administration.
See main article: 1997 Scottish devolution referendum and Scotland Act 1998.
In 1885, many domestic policy functions relating to Scotland were brought into the responsibility of the Scottish Office, a department of the Government of the United Kingdom which was headed by a Secretary for Scotland, later the Secretary of State for Scotland.
Following the 1997 referendum on devolution, many of the functions of the Secretary of State for Scotland were transferred to the Scottish Ministers, accountable to a devolved Scottish Parliament.
The first Scottish Executive was formed by First Minister Donald Dewar as a coalition between the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrats. During this period, ministerial appointees were divided into ministers and deputy ministers. The Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition continued under subsequent First Ministers Henry McLeish and Jack McConnell. Following the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, Alex Salmond headed a Scottish National Party administration until his resignation in 2014 and the appointment of his former Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Since 2007, the Scottish Executive has used the name Scottish Government. The change of name was later recognised in United Kingdom legislation by the Scotland Act 2012. In 2001, former First Minister Henry McLeish had proposed such a change, but experienced some opposition.[6]
At the same time that the Scottish Government began to use its new name, a new emblem was adopted. It replaced the use of a version of the Royal Arms with the Flag of Scotland.[7]
See main article: Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Government is separate from the Scottish Parliament, with the parliament being made of 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament elected by the electorate of Scotland during Scottish Parliamentary elections. The Scottish Parliament acts as the law making body for devolved matters which fall under the responsibility of the Scottish Government. The work of the Scottish Government, including proposed legislation, policies and activities, is scrutinised by parliament through a variety of different measures such as parliamentary debates, parliament committees and parliamentary questions to the appropriate Cabinet Secretary or government minister.[8]
The Scottish Government produces a National Performance Framework which sets out the government's priorities, objectives and overall vision for the country following election. It serves as a means for the Scottish Government to highlight national priorities and provides an opportunity for the government to evaluate its progress towards achieving the objectives as set out in the National Performance Framework.[9]
Similarly, the Programme for Government is published annually by the incumbent Scottish Government, and it highlights the governments policies, proposed actions and legislation that the government will seek to implement in the forthcoming year.[10]
The Scottish Government introduced the first National Performance Framework (NPF) in 2007. This framework measures "how Scotland is doing" in eleven National Outcome areas including health, poverty, environment and education, along with offering a portrait of "the kind of Scotland" that government wishes to create. Each of the National Outcomes is measured by a number of Indicators and associated data sets.[11] The National Outcomes are that people: