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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 Units (also sometimes referred to as Branches) and finally 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.
The current system of Directorates was created by a December 2010 re-organisation. [1] Prior to 2007 the Directorates were preceded by similar structures called "Departments" that no longer exist (although the word is still sometimes used in this context). [2]
The Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government is the most senior civil servant in Scotland. The role is currently occupied by John-Paul Marks, who replaced Leslie Evans in January 2022. [3]
The structure of the directorates as of July 2024 is given below. [4]
Director-General: Louise Macdonald
Directorates:
Director-General: Lesley Fraser
Directorates:
Director-General: Gregor Irwin
Directorates:
Director-General: Neil Rennick
Directorates:
Director-General: Alyson Stafford
Directorates:
Director-General and Chief Executive of NHS Scotland: Caroline Lamb
Directorates:
Director-General: Roy Brannen
Directorates:
Director-General: Joe Griffin
Directorates:
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. 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.
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The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Northern Ireland Executive. It oversees the English National Health Service (NHS). The department is led by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care with three ministers of state and three parliamentary under-secretaries of state.
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The Health and Social Care Directorates are a group of directorates of the Scottish Government. They are responsible for NHS Scotland, as well as policies on the development and implementation of health and social care.
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The Scottish Government Finance Directorates are a group of civil service Directorates in the Scottish Government created by a December 2010 re-organisation.
The Scottish Government Education and Justice Directorates are a group of civil service Directorates in the Scottish Government created by a re-organisation.
The Communities Directorates are a group of civil service Directorates in the Scottish Government. The individual Directorates within the overarching Communities Directorates report to the Director-General, Louise MacDonald.
The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and were officially announced in The London Gazette on 30 December 2017. Australia, an independent Realm, has a separate honours system and its first honours of the year, the 2018 Australia Day Honours, coincide with Australia Day on 26 January. New Zealand, also an independent Realm, has its own system of honours.
The 2019 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and were officially announced in The London Gazette at 22:30 on 28 December 2018. Australia, an independent Realm, has a separate honours system and its first honours of the year, the 2019 Australia Day Honours, coincide with Australia Day on 26 January.
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The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations at the start of January and were officially announced in The London Gazette on 27 December 2019. Australia, an independent Realm, has a separate honours system and its first honours of the year, the 2020 Australia Day Honours, coincide with Australia Day on 26 January.
The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The honours for New Zealand were announced on 1 June, and for Australia on 8 June.
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, Energy & Climate Change, Environment & Forestry, Transport Scotland, Forestry and Land Scotland and Scottish Forestry moving from the Economy Directorates.
The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. They were announced on 1 June 2022, in anticipation of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. They were the last honours granted by the Queen before her death on 8 September 2022.
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This notice refers to the transfer of the DG of the Scottish Government Environment Directorates in December 2010, and thus indirectly to this re-organisation.
A new structure for Scotland's Government has been put in place, transforming the Departmental structure, moving from nine Heads of Department, to a Strategic Board with the Permanent Secretary and five Directors-General (DG), with each DG having responsibility for driving one of the Government's strategic objectives. Directors-General focus on the performance of the whole organisation against the Cabinet's agenda. The new structure means that the old Scottish Executive Departments no longer exist. Instead, each DG supports and manages a number of Directors, with these Directorates leading, presenting and developing policy for Ministers.