Scotland's Government
In 1997 it was decided by referendum that Scotland should have a devolved parliament. This means that some administrative powers were transferred from the UK government to the Scottish government. The Scottish government constitutes a legislative branch and an executive branch: the Scottish parliament and the Scottish Government (formerly known as the Scottish Executive), respectively.
The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 Members, known as MSPs, who can pass laws on a range of issues set out in the 1998 Scotland Act which set up the Parliament. These are known as devolved matters . They include education, health, agriculture, justice and transport. The Scotland Act also defined the areas where the Scottish Parliament does not have power. These are known as reserved matters and are governed from the UK government in London. These include foreign affairs, defence and national security.
The Scottish Parliament also has the power to raise or lower the basic rate of income tax by up to 3%.
The Scottish Government is responsible for governing Scotland in all of the devolved matters.
The Scottish Government is accountable to the Scottish Parliament. It is led by the First Minster, who is nominated by the Parliament and appointed by Her Majesty the Queen. The First Minister appoints other Scottish Ministers to form the Government.
Source: Scottish Parliament (March 2009)