The Scottish Government took over responsibility from the Scottish Office on 1st July 1999 and is the government in Scotland for all devolved matters. Those reserved to the UK government include defence, foreign affairs, trade and revenue. The Government has seven departments:
- Education
- Rural Affairs (formerly the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries)
- Justice (formerly the Home Department)
- Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
- Health
- Development and
- Government Secretariat
Some functions have, however, changed to new departments, notably social work, which is now split between Justice and Health.
The records
The records of the Scottish departments are transmitted to the National Archives of Scotland (NRS) under the terms of the Public Records (Scotland) Act 1937. They are a mine of information on all aspects of Scottish life. Some of the departmental records are discussed from two particular perspectives in 'Tracing Your Scottish Ancestors' and 'Tracing Scottish Local History'. The following lists summarise the main groups of records:
- Scottish departments
- United Kingdom departments
- Other bodies
These records can be consulted in our Historical Search Room at General Register House.
