The Scottish Government's Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) is a directorate of the Scottish Government. It currently sits within the Scottish Government Finance Directorates.
Before 12 January 2015, PCO was known as the Office of the Scottish Parliamentary Counsel.
PCO drafts Scottish Parliament Bills for the legislative programme of the Scottish Ministers. [1]
The Scottish Government is 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.
The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and deputy ministers. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers and deputy ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
The minister of health is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing health-focused government agencies including Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, as well as enforcing the Canada Health Act, the law governing Canada's universal health care system.
The Attorney General of Ireland is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does participate in cabinet meetings when invited and attends government meetings. The current attorney general is Rossa Fanning, SC.
The Law Officers are the senior legal advisors to His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom and devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are variously referred to as the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Lord Advocate, or Advocate General depending on seniority and geography - though other terms are also in use, such as the Counsel General for Wales. Law Officers in these roles are distinguished by being political appointees, while also being bound by the duties of independence, justice and confidentiality among the other typical professional commitments of lawyers. These roles do not have any direct oversight of prosecutions nor do they directly lead or influence criminal investigations. This is a distinguishing factor between Law Officers and the State Attorneys General of the United States or US Attorney General.
PCO may refer to:
Parliamentary counsel are lawyers who prepare drafts of legislation to be passed into law. The terms Parliamentary drafter, Parliamentary draftsman, legislative drafting officer and legislative counsel are also widely used.
The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 (Cth) was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which limited immigration to Australia and formed the basis of the White Australia policy which sought to exclude all non-Europeans from Australia. The law granted immigration officers a wide degree of discretion to prevent individuals from entering Australia. The Act prohibited various classes of people from immigrating and provided for illegal immigrants to be deported.
The Scottish Government Justice and Communities Directorates were a group of Directorates within the Scottish Government 2007–2010.
The High Court of Sindh is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in civil and criminal matters, the Court was the District Court and the Court of Session in Karachi.
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, commonly referred to as the Health Secretary, is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for the Health and Social Care Directorates and NHS Scotland.
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 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 Parliamentary Counsel Office is New Zealand's law drafting office. It drafts New Zealand Government Bills and Legislative Instruments. It also publishes all New Zealand Bills, Acts, and Legislative Instruments in print and on the New Zealand Legislation website.
An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is primary legislation passed by the UK Parliament in Westminster, London.
In the UK and certain other Commonwealth countries, King's Consent is a parliamentary convention under which Crown consent is sought whenever a proposed parliamentary bill will affect the Crown's own prerogatives or interests. Prince's Consent is a similar doctrine, under which consent of the Prince of Wales must be obtained for matters relating to the Duchy of Cornwall. King's or Prince's Consent must be obtained early in the legislative process, generally before parliament may debate or vote on a bill. In modern times, following the tenets of constitutional monarchy, consent is granted or withheld as advised by government.
The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) drafts all government bills introduced to the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Established in 1869, OPC is part of the Cabinet Office and led by Jessica de Mounteney, the First Parliamentary Counsel and Permanent Secretary.
Parliamentary Counsel Office may refer to:
The Scottish Government Finance and Corporate Services Directorates were a set of directorates of the Scottish Government. They were responsible for delivering ministerial support, human resources, legal services and procurement to the other directorates. In December 2010 these functions were taken on by the Governance and Communities Directorate and the Finance Directorate.
The Scottish Government Finance Directorates are a group of civil service Directorates in the Scottish Government created by a December 2010 re-organisation.
The Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is an Australian Commonwealth government agency established under the Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970 (Cth) within the Commonwealth Attorney-General's portfolio. OPC drafts all government Bills that are introduced into the federal Parliament, legislative instruments made by the Governor-General, and a range of other delegated legislation. It also manages the Federal Register of Legislation to provide access to authorised, up-to-date versions of Commonwealth laws.