Homework due- mon 17th of September MSPs can represent their constituents in a number of ways. Describe, in detail, ways MSPs can represent their constituents in the Scottish Parliament and in their constituencies. (8 Marks) How to answer…. Point Explain x3 Remember to FULLY Example explain!!!

The Scottish Government & the First Minister

Today we will… Success Criteria To explain the function of the Scottish Government and its composition. Success Criteria I can explain the function of the Scottish Government, the composition of SG & the role of Cabinet Secretaries.

The Scottish Government The Scottish Government is DIFFERENT to the Scottish Parliament. They have different functions! The Scottish parliament is composed of 129 MSP’s elected through the AMS, their members are from a range of political parties. Its job is to scrutinise the work of the Scottish Government and hold the government accountable to the people of Scotland. The Scottish Government is formed from the party or parties holding the most seats in the Scottish Parliament. As the Scottish Parliament currently has a SNP minority hold. The SNP party form Scottish Government. BUT not all 63 members of the SNP party form government…

The Scottish Government The Scottish Governments role is to formulate and implement policy on devolved matters. The Scottish Government also proposes how the Scottish budget is allocated through the Budget Bill, which it submits to the Scottish Parliament each year for approval. What are devolved powers? Devolved powers are powers which are given to a devolved parliament e.g Scottish Parliament. This means this parliament now has some powers and makes some of its own decision’s over various policies and systems which enable the government to run smoothly and at a local level. These powers were passed to Scotland when the Scottish government was formed in 1999.

Some Examples of devolved powers: Health- the NHS Scotland (e.g hospitals, GP services) Education- Nurseries, schools, colleges and universities Local Government- 32 local authorities which deliver services to the population Law and home affairs- criminal law, civil law, the police etc. Police and fire services Environment- environmental protection legislation and policies. Sports and the arts- promotion of sports, museums. Agriculture and forestry

Composition of the Scottish Government The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is the head of the Scottish Government. Scottish Government is composed of 25 Ministers in total (including the First Minister) It is up to the First Minister to appoint Cabinet Secretaries (formerly known as Government Ministers) She must appoint with the approval from Scottish Parliament. There is now 12 members of cabinet at government level. The First Minister can re-shuffle Cabinet members at any time.

Who forms the Scottish Government?

Cabinet secretaries & Ministers As well as representing their constituents some MSP’s have the additional role of being a Cabinet Secretary or Minister. Whereby they are allocated a specific area of responsibility such as health or education. The Scottish cabinet operates on a basis of collective responsibility. This means that all decisions reached by Ministers, individually and collectively are binding on all members of government. Each government department is run by a Cabinet Secretary, who works on behalf of all ministers and all departments in the government manage cabinet business and facilitate collective decision making.

The Scottish Cabinet The Cabinet is the main decision-making body of the Scottish Government. It is made up of the First Minister, all Cabinet Secretaries, Minister for Parliamentary Business and Permanent Secretary. The Lord Advocate may also attend in his or her role as the Scottish Government’s principal legal adviser. On appointment, the Cabinet secretary becomes accountable for the work of the department and any associated legislation going through the Scottish Parliament. Cabinet meetings are held weekly during Parliament in Bute House, Edinburgh, and may also be held at other times in locations throughout Scotland

Ministers Cabinet Secretaries are supported by Ministers

Scottish Government Composition COPY!! 25 Members in total!! First Minister (Head of Government) Nicola Sturgeon Cabinet secretaries Appointed by the First Minister Heads of various Government departments Ministers Appointed by the First Minister Ministers support the work of Cabinet Secretaries. They are also part of the decision making body. However, their remit will fall within a certain department.

Legal Officers within the Scottish Government The Solicitor General: Deputy of the Lord Advocate. They are responsible for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. Legal advice to Scottish Ministers, civil litigation, constitutional issues and appointment of Counsel. Lord Advocate- is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament

Task 1: Re-cap Q’s 10 MINS Describe the difference(s) between Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government. How many members of Scottish Government are there? Explain the role of Cabinet Secretaries. Explain the role of Cabinet Ministers. What is the role of the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General?

The First Minister Function & powers

Today we will… Success Criteria To outline the role and powers of the First Minister as well as Success Criteria I can describe the role of the First Minister and the powers he/she has.

The First Minister The First Minister is the political leader of Scotland and the head of the Scottish Government. They are responsible for the creation and development of Scottish government policy. They also represent Scotland at home and abroad. Who elects the First minister? MSP’s take part in an exhaustive ballot to vote for the First Minister. The elector simply casts a vote for his or her favourite candidate who has put their name forward for consideration. However, if no candidate is supported by the overall majority of votes then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Further voting takes place until only one candidate remains.

The First Minister Alex Salmond was the longest serving First Minister (2007) for Scotland until he stepped down in 2014. This came after Scotland rejected independence. After 55.3% of Scotland voted no Salmond announced he was stepping down in November. So why Nicola? No one else was nominated for the post of First Minister by the time the nomination closed, this left leadership open to Nicola Sturgeon who at the time was Deputy First Minister. She was formally elected to succeed Salmond on the 19th of November 2014. Background info: She has been a member of the party since 1986 , She was first placed as a regional MSP after failing to win a constituency seat in Glasgow Govan. The seat which she has now held since 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnrt3hmxf24

Powers of the First Minister Power of appointment- Hiring and firing Ministers: As the First Minister is head of the party whom holds the most seats in parliament. They therefore form their own government. It is their responsibility to appoint Ministers an also Cabinet Secretaries. The FM also has the power to fire Ministers who were not doing their job effectively. As well as re-shuffling Cabinet. This must all be approved by Parliament however, it is ultimately up to the FM to appoint. This is an extremely important power as these Cabinet Secretaries are the heads of government departments. The way they run their department has a direct impact on our country, due to their implementation of legislation and policy. For example: Humza Yousaf the former Transport Minister was appointed the role of Cabinet Secretary for Justice in June 2018. The First Minister had a major cabinet re-shuffle stating the new line-up would bring “fresh talent” to the Scottish Government

Powers of the First Minister Head of the executive/leader of the largest party: The FM is also the head of the executive in Scotland. They are appointed this role through an exhaustive voting process. Whereby, potential candidates are voted for by Parliament. As the head of the executive the FM can project and push their parties political agenda at Government level. As the leader of the largest party the FM has a significant influence over her party as well as Parliament. In 2016, Nicola Sturgeon was returned as First Minister with 63 MSPs. For example: The First Ministers party has more seats than any other party and this allows the First Minister to implement government legislation eg the Budget.

Powers of the First Minister Chairing the Cabinet and setting the Cabinet agenda: The FM chairs cabinet meetings of MSPs who run the different government departments in Scotland such as health and transport. As leader of the Cabinet they also gets to set the agenda for Cabinet meetings, this means they can decide what is discussed in Cabinet, and the amount of time that each issue is discussed for. This is an important power, because it means that they decide on what the most important issues the government has to deal with are, and they can leave off the agenda anything they do not wish to have discussed. They can set the priorities for government and manage the discussion of Ministers For example: For example, Nicola Sturgeon can decide the Cabinet’s strongest focus such as enabling a second independence referendum and direct discussion towards these areas.

Powers of the First Minister Media attention: As the head of the executive the FM is the face of Scottish Government, due to this they receive a great deal of media attention and scrutiny. The FM can have great power in the sense that they can organise interviews or press conferences to highlight issues they wish to push forward on the agenda. The FM can also appeal to voters through the attention they get through media as well as social media. This can significantly boost a parties votes when it comes to election time. For example: In 2013 Alex Salmond the former FM, announced the date for the Scottish Independence referendum as the 18th of September 2014.

Powers of the First Minister Relationships with foreign leaders: The First Minister can also represent Scotland abroad. It is up to them to build trading relationships and partnerships with other countries. This is extremely important as it emphasises Scotland importance role on the global stage. For example: Alex Salmond spent a lot of time trying to encourage people from the USA, Australia and Canada to buy products from Scotland and to visit Scotland on holiday in the “Year of Homecoming”.

Describe in detail the advantages of the Additional Member System Spot the difference Describe in detail the advantages of the Additional Member System Smaller parties get better representation. Because in a regional vote the % of the votes roughly equates to the same number of seats given. For example the greens have roughly the same seats as their % of the vote. One advantage of the Additional Member System is that it gives smaller parties a fairer representation. Under AMS the votes are split into two. Vote 1 elects the constituency MSP and vote 2 elects the regional MSP’s. The regional vote uses a method known as proportional representation whereby, the % of votes a party receives is equal to that of the seats they win in Scottish Parliament. An example of this is in 2016 the Scottish Greens received 6.6% of votes and ended up with 7.1% of the seats.

Spot the difference Describe, in detail, two ways in which MSPs can represent their constituents in the Scottish Parliament. MSP’s can represent their constituents at Scottish Parliament by going on fact-finding missions….. MSP’s can represent their constituents at Scottish parliament by proposing members bills….

Candidates would receive 0 marks if they have wrote an extensive answer regarding an MSP’s work in their constituency as this is NOT what the question is asking for.

KU Question Describe, in detail, the powers of the First Minister in the Scottish Government. 8 marks How to answer…. Point Explain x3 Remember to FULLY Example explain!!!

Task 2: Research Using your iPads create a fact file in your note pad on one member of the Scottish Government. Use reliable websites-not Wikipedia. It should contain: Name Age Position held- date appointed Role Constituency represented Experience in their relevant field? Popular or unpopular politician?