The department evolved from the Scottish Office which was formed in 1885. It was renamed the Scotland Office in 1999 following devolution in Scotland, where the majority of its responsibilities were transferred to the Scottish Executive (since renamed the Scottish Government).
Role
The office is responsible for the representation of Scotland and Scottish affairs in the UK Government, facilitating the smooth operation of devolution, liaising between the central Government and the Scottish Government at Edinburgh and the administering of certain reserved matters of government relating to Scotland.
Until the advent of the Scottish Parliament and the devolved Scottish Government, the Scottish Office (the precursor to the Scotland 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 as well as relations with the devolved bodies. Along with the Wales Office, the Scotland Office has shared administrative functions first with the 2007 Department for Constitutional Affairs and later 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.
Between 2015-18, the Scotland Office rebranded much of its output under a UK Government in Scotland branding, with the office itself becoming known as the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Similar changes were made in relation to the Wales Office.[4]
Overall responsibility; custodian of the Scottish devolution settlement; represent Scottish interests within the UK Government; advocate for the UK Government’s policies in Scotland; promote partnership between the UK Government and the Scottish Government, as well as relations between the UK and Scottish Parliaments.
Supporting the Secretary of State in their duties.
Location
The department is based across two sites, one in Edinburgh and the other in London. Dover House in Whitehall has been used as the London base of the office and its predecessors since 1885. It also provides accommodation for the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland and other government bodies.
Since 2020, its base in Edinburgh is Queen Elizabeth House, which was earmarked to be a UK Government hub in the city bringing together around 3,000 UK Government civil servants across a variety of government departments.[6] Between 1999 and 2020, it was located in premises at Melville Crescent.
Prior to devolution, the Scottish Office had a number of facilities in Scotland that are now generally operated by the devolved Scottish Government. This includes St Andrew's House and Victoria Quay.
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