Scottish Government

The devolved Government for Scotland is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport.

The Scottish Government is led by a First Minister who is nominated by the Parliament and in turn appoints the other Scottish Ministers who make up the Cabinet. Civil servants in Scotland are accountable to Scottish Ministers, who are themselves accountable to the Scottish Parliament.

The budget for 2011-2012 is over £33 billion and a new administration will be formed after elections in May 2011.

Phil Balls, Head of Innovation, Procurement and Knowledge Exchange says 'The Scottish Government is committing over £12M to 'Environmental Change' - a major new programme of research that aligns directly with the objectives of Living with Environmental Change. We want Scotland to make a distinctive contribution to the work of Living with Environmental Change and to increase opportunities for our scientists to collaborate with their peers across the UK.'