Executive agencies of the Scottish Government

This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the
Politics of Scotland
The Crown The Monarch Charles III Heir apparent William, Duke of Rothesay Prerogative Royal family Succession Privy Council Union of the Crowns Balmoral Castle Holyrood Palace Scottish republicanism
Executive Scottish Government Swinney government First Minister The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Keeper of the Great Seal The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes MSP Cabinet Secretaries Junior Ministers Scottish budget Taxation Directorates Executive agencies Public bodies State-owned enterprises Bute House St Andrew's House International relations
Legislature Scottish Parliament Sixth session Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone MSP Primary legislation Statutory instrument Committees First Minister's Questions Standards Commission for Scotland Scotland Act 1998 2012 Act 2016 Act Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 EU Continuity Act 2020
Law and justice Cabinet Secretary for Justice Angela Constance MSP Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC Lord President The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC Scots law Udal law Courts Judiciary Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Police Scotland Scottish Prison Service Advocate General Solicitor General
Elections and referendums Scottish Parliament elections 1999 2003 2007 2011 2016 2021 Next United Kingdom Parliament elections 1801 co-option 1802 1806 1807 1812 1818 1820 1826 1830 1831 1832 1835 1837 1841 1847 1852 1857 1859 1865 1868 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 1910 (Jan) 1910 (Dec) 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 1974 (Feb) 1974 (Oct) 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001 2005 2010 2015 2017 2019 European Parliament elections 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019 Local elections 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1977 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1995 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017 2022 Referendums 1975 1979 1994 1997 2005 2011 2014 2016 Scottish Parliament constituencies Scottish Parliament electoral regions Scottish Westminster constituencies Proposed second independence referendum Electoral system Political parties
Scotland and the United Kingdom United Kingdom Government Starmer ministry Prime Minister The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP Secretary of State for Scotland The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP Scottish devolution Treaty of Union House of Commons House of Lords Scotland Office Scottish Affairs Committee Scottish Grand Committee Interministerial Standing Committee Barnett formula Reserved matters Sewel motion
Administration Council areas History Sheriffdoms Community councils Lieutenancy areas Convention of Scottish Local Authorities
Category Scotland portal Other countries
v t e

Executive agencies are established by ministers as part of Scottish Government to carry out a discrete area of work. They form an integral part of the Scottish Government, but have a specific, well-defined remit. They are staffed by civil servants and headed by a Chief Executive, who is a civil servant, and are directly accountable to the government.^[1][2]

Executive agencies differ from public bodies, which are not considered to be part of the Government, although they are listed in the Scottish Government's directory of national public bodies alongside the public bodies.^[3] Executive agencies may be considered similar to the government's core directorates, but are generally more focused on the management and direct delivery of public services as opposed to policy formation (although they may also provide strategic policy input).^[4]

Executive agencies were first established following Sir Robin Ibbs' (then head of the Efficiency Unit) "Next Steps" Report in 1988. The intention was that they would take responsibility for, and bring a new, more customer-focused approach to, individual executive (service delivery) functions within government. This would leave their parent departments to concentrate on policy development, although this boundary can be very blurred.^{[citation needed]}

The following bodies are executive agencies:^[5]

• Accountant in Bankruptcy
• Disclosure Scotland
• Education Scotland
• Forestry and Land Scotland^[6]
• Scottish Forestry^[7]
• Scottish Prison Service
• Scottish Public Pensions Agency
• Social Security Scotland
• Student Awards Agency for Scotland
• Transport Scotland

• Communities Scotland (part reabsorbed into Scottish Government, the remainder reorganised into the Scottish Housing Regulator)
• Fisheries Research Services (now part of Marine Scotland, within core Scottish Government)
• Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland
• Registers of Scotland (now a non-ministerial office of the Scottish Government )
• Scottish Agricultural Science Agency (now part of core Scottish Government)
• Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (now part of Marine Scotland, within core Scottish Government)
• Scottish Court Service (now an NDPB under Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008)
• Scottish Building Standards Agency (now part of core Scottish Government)
• Scottish Housing Regulator (now a non-ministerial office of the Scottish Government )
• Social Work Inspection Agency (now part of the Care Inspectorate, a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government)
• Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (now part of Education Scotland)

This article about an organisation in Scotland is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e