Advocate General for Scotland

Office of the Advocate General for Scotland
Scottish Gaelic: *Àrd-neach-tagraidh na Bànrighe airson Alba*
Department overview

Jurisdiction	Scotland
Headquarters	Victoria Quay, Edinburgh
Minister responsible	The Lord Keen of Elie QC, Advocate General for Scotland
Department executive	Michael Chalmers, Director and Solicitor to the Advocate General
Website	www.gov.uk/government/organisations/office-of-the-advocate-general-for-scotland

Scotland

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Her Majesty's Advocate General for Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Àrd-neach-tagraidh na Bànrighe airson Alba) is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, whose duty it is to advise the Crown and Her Majesty's Government on Scots law. The Office of the Advocate General for Scotland is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom government.^[1] The position is currently held by The Lord Keen of Elie QC, who is the first Conservative Advocate General.

History

The office of Advocate General for Scotland was created in 1999 by the Scotland Act 1998 to be the chief legal adviser to the United Kingdom Government on Scots Law. This function had previously been carried out by the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for Scotland, who were transferred to the Scottish Government on the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. The office of the Advocate General for Scotland should not be confused with that of "Her Majesty's Advocate", which is the term used for the Lord Advocate in Scottish criminal proceedings.

Advocates General for Scotland

	Name	Entered office	Left office	Party
1	Dr Lynda Clark QC MP (Baroness Clark of Calton from 2005)	19 May 1999	18 January 2006	Labour
2	Lord Davidson of Glen Clova QC	21 March 2006	14 May 2010	Labour
3	Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC	14 May 2010	8 May 2015	Liberal Democrats
4	Lord Keen of Elie QC	29 May 2015		Conservative

The first holder of the office was Dr Lynda Clark, then Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Pentlands and from 2005 a member of the House of Lords as Baroness Clark of Calton. On 18 January 2006, Baroness Clark resigned to take up office as a Senator of the College of Justice, a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.

The office was then vacant until 15 March of that year when, under section 87 of the Scotland Act 1998, its functions were temporarily conferred on the Secretary of State for Scotland, Alastair Darling MP, himself a Scottish advocate .

There had been substantial criticism from the judiciary and others of the length of time the office had been left vacant . On 21 March, however, it was announced Neil Davidson QC, former Solicitor General for Scotland, had been appointed Advocate General. He was created a life peer, as Lord Davidson of Glen Clova, on 22 March 2006.

On 14 May 2010, The Lord Wallace of Tankerness, a former Deputy First Minister of Scotland, was appointed by the Coalition Government.

Richard Keen QC was appointed Advocate General in the current Conservative government on 29 May 2015.^[2] He was created a life peer, as Lord Keen of Elie, on 8 June 2015.

Organisation

The Office has a staff of around 40.

All staff are on secondment or loan from other government organisations, mainly the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice.^[3]

Offices of the Advocate General

Advocate General's Private Office, based in London
Legal Secretariat to the Advocate General (LSAG), based in London
- Legal Secretary to the Advocate General
Office of the Advocate General (OAG), based in Edinburgh
- Solicitor to the Advocate General
  - Head of Litigation Division (Scots law)
  - Head of Advisory & Legislation Division (Primary legislation, subordinate legislation, Scotland Act draft orders)
  - Head of HMRC Division

References

↑ "List of Ministerial Responsibilities. Including Executive Agencies and Non-Ministerial Departments" (PDF). Cabinet Office. December 2013. p. 47. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
↑ "Advocate General for Scotland appointed". www.gov.uk (Press release). 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
↑ http://www.oag.gov.uk/oag/files/Organograms%20OAG%20as%20at%2030%20June%202010%20new%20CO%20spec14%20Oct%202010.pdf

External links

Official website

Scotland Office

Headquarters: Dover House, Whitehall, London and Melville Crescent, Edinburgh

Secretary of State	David Mundell

Under-Secretary of State	The Lord Dunlop

Advocate General	The Lord Keen of Elie

Predecessor: Scottish Office

Departments of Her Majesty's Government

Ministerial	Attorney General's Office Cabinet Office Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Department for Communities and Local Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport Department for Education Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department for International Development Department for Transport Department for Work and Pensions Department of Energy and Climate Change Department of Health Foreign and Commonwealth Office Her Majesty's Treasury Home Office Ministry of Defence Ministry of Justice Northern Ireland Office Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Office of the Leader of the House of Commons Office of the Leader of the House of Lords Scotland Office UK Export Finance Wales Office

Non-ministerial	Charity Commission for England and Wales Competition and Markets Authority Crown Prosecution Service Food Standards Agency Forestry Commission Government Actuary's Department Government Legal Department Her Majesty's Land Registry Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs National Crime Agency National Savings and Investments Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills Office of Gas and Electricity Markets Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation Office of Rail and Road Ordnance Survey Serious Fraud Office Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The National Archives UK Statistics Authority UK Trade & Investment Water Services Regulation Authority

Category Commons

Devolution in the United Kingdom

Devolved areas

National level	Northern Ireland Scotland Wales

Regional level (in England)	Combined authorities Directly elected mayoralties Greater London Authority

Referendums¹

English mayoral referendums
- London, 1998
- 2012
North East England
- 2004
Northern Ireland
- 1998
Scotland
- 1979
- 1997
Wales
- 1979
- 1997
- 2011

Heads of devolved governments

Devolved legislatures²

Devolved administrations³

Organisations and laws of the
legislatures and governments
of the UK and the devolved areas

Commissions (UK Parliament)	Kilbrandon Commission Holtham Commission Silk Commission McKay Commission

Commissions (devolved legislatures)	National Assembly for Wales Richard Commission Holtham Commission Scottish Parliament Calman Commission Smith Commission

Devolution acts	Greater London Authority Acts 1999 2007 Northern Ireland Acts 1998 2006 Wales Acts 1998 2006 2014 Scotland Acts 1998 2012

Select committees	Northern Ireland Affairs Scottish Affairs Welsh Affairs

Grand committees	England Northern Ireland Scottish Welsh

Departments and Territorial Offices (MOJ)	Cabinet Office - Devolution Secretariat Ministry of Justice - Devolution Directorate-General Office of the Advocate General for Scotland Northern Ireland Office Scotland Office Wales Office

Elections

Current	Agreements/Treaties Anglo-Irish Treaty Good Friday Agreement Budget Barnett formula Block grant Constitution of the United Kingdom Reserved and excepted matters West Lothian question

Proposals	Cornwall Cornish Assembly Cornish Constitutional Convention Mebyon Kernow Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament Devolved English parliament Campaign for an English Parliament Northern England Campaign for the North Yorkshire First Other parts of Southern England Wessex Regionalist Party Scotland Full fiscal autonomy

Historical	Administrations of England English Regional Assemblies, 1998-2010 Administrations of London London County Council Greater London Council Administrations of Northern Ireland 1922–72 1974 Legislatures of Northern Ireland 1922–72 1973–74 1982–86 Northern Ireland-related legislation of the UK Parliament Ireland, 1886 Ireland, 1893 Ireland, 1914 Ireland, 1920 Irish Free State, 1922 Northern Ireland, 1974 Irish Home Rule movement Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Scotland Act 1978 Scottish Office Sunningdale Agreement Wales Act 1978 Welsh Office

1. Rejected referendums are italicised. The others were fully or partially approved.
2. There is no law-making body for any regionally devolved area.
3. Administrations of regionally devolved areas are omitted.

Category

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