The Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament established in 1999 is a separate organisation from the Scottish Government. However, the Cabinet Secretaries and the Ministers of the Scottish Government are chosen from the political party or parties holding a majority of seats in the Parliament. The Scottish Parliament passes laws on devolved issues and also scrutinises the work of the Scottish Government. The Scottish Parliament has the power to vary the basic rate of income tax by 3 pence in the pound. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 Members of Parliament from Scotland.

Leader Alex Fergusson MSP, Presiding Officer
Structure 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)
Location Holyrood, Edinburgh
Political Parties 47 Scottish National Party
46 Labour
16 Conservative
16 Liberal Democrats
2 Greens
1 Independent
1 Presiding Officer (elected as a Conservative)
Parliamentary Business Meetings of full Parliament can include First Minister’s Question Time, Executive debate, Business Motion, etc
Committee meetings include Audit, Justice, Health, etc
4 Key Principles
adopted by the Parliament
  • Sharing Power
    The Scottish Parliament should embody and reflect the sharing of power between the people of Scotland, the legislators and the Scottish Government
  • Accountability
    The Scottish Government should be accountable to the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament and Government should be accountable to the people of Scotland
  • Openness, accessibility and participation
    The Scottish Parliament should be accessible, open, responsive and develop procedures which make possible a participative approach to the development, consideration and scrutiny of policy and legislation
  • Promoting equal opportunities
    The Scottish Parliament in its operation and its appointments should recognise the need to promote equal opportunities for all


More about the Scottish Parliament at www.scottish.parliament.uk