The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Concordats set out agreed frameworks for co operation, between it and the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive, which have devolved responsibilities for these matters in their respective nations.
An environment minister is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an environmental minister depends largely of the needs of an individual countries or states.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency is Scotland's environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management authority. Its main role is to protect and improve Scotland's environment. SEPA does this by helping business and industry to understand their environmental responsibilities, enabling customers to comply with legislation and good practice and to realise the economic benefits of good environmental practice. One of the ways SEPA does this is through the NetRegs environmental guidance service. It protects communities by regulating activities that can cause harmful pollution and by monitoring the quality of Scotland's air, land and water. The regulations it implements also cover the storage, transport and disposal of radioactive materials.
The Ministry of the Environment is a government ministry in Sweden responsible for the government's environmental policies regarding chemicals, natural environment and biological diversity.
The Minister for Transport is a member of the Scottish Government who works reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport. As a Junior Minister the post holder is not a member of the Scottish Government Cabinet.
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, commonly referred to as the Rural Affairs Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for rural Scotland and its islands, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, aquaculture, food and drink, and crofting. The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by the Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform, Mairi McAllan.
The Minister for Higher Education and Further Education, Youth Employment and Training is a Junior ministerial post in the Education Department of the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet. The post was created in May 2007 after the appointment of the Scottish National Party minority administration and the Minister reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, who has overall responsibility for the portfolio, and is a member of cabinet. The Minister has specific responsibility for further education and colleges, higher education and universities, science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics, student funding, youth work, and widening access to education.
The Minister for Housing and Welfare was a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister did not attend the Scottish Cabinet.
The work of the Scottish Government is carried out by Directorates, each headed by a Director. The Directorates are grouped into a number of Directorates-General families, each headed by a Director-General. However, the individual Directorates are the building blocks of the system. The Directorates are further broken down into "Divisions" and then by teams. Divisions usually consist of 25-50 people. There is no direct correspondence between the political responsibilities of the Ministers in the Scottish Government and the Directorates, although in some cases there is considerable overlap. The Directorates are also responsible for a number of government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Some government work is also carried out by Executive Agencies such as Transport Scotland, who sit outside the Directorates structure, but are also staffed by civil servants
Scottish Parliament committees are small groups of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who meet on a regular basis to scrutinise the work of the Scottish Government, conduct inquiries into subjects within their remit and examine legislation. Much of the everyday work of the Scottish Parliament is done by these committees.
The Scottish Government Rural Affairs, Environment and Services Directorates were a group of civil service Directorates in the Scottish Government until a December 2010 re-organisation.
The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries was a Minister of the Cabinet of South Africa from 2009 to 2019, with political executive responsibility for the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and for the Agricultural Research Council, the National Agricultural Marketing Council, Onderstepoort Biological Products, the Perishable Products Export Control Board, and Ncera Farms.
The Scottish Government Economy Directorates are a group of Directorates of the Scottish Government. They were rebranded as the Economy Directorates in July 2016, having previously been reorganised in December 2010 and then in June 2014. In July 2021, a further re-organisation led to the creation of the Net Zero Directorates, with Agriculture & Rural Economy, Marine Scotland, Energy & Climate Change, Environment & Forestry, Transport Scotland, Forestry and Land Scotland and Scottish Forestry moving to the new Directorate General.
The Minister for Parliamentary Business is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet but supports the Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery, who is a member of the cabinet. The minister has the job of steering government business through the Scottish Parliament.
The Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet, but supports the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport who attends the cabinet.
This article gives an overview of the structure of environmental and cultural conservation in Scotland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.
The Scottish Government Net Zero Directorates are a group of civil service Directorates in the Scottish Government. They were created in July 2021, with Agriculture & Rural Economy, Marine Scotland, Energy & Climate Change, Environment & Forestry, Transport Scotland, Forestry and Land Scotland and Scottish Forestry moving from the Economy Directorates.
The Scottish Government Net Zero Directorates are a group of Directorates of the Scottish Government. The group was created in July 2021, with Agriculture & Rural Economy, Marine Scotland, Energy & Climate Change, Environment & Forestry, Transport Scotland, Forestry and Land Scotland and Scottish Forestry moving from the Economy Directorates.
