Scotland

Northern Ireland Scotland and Wales Scotland elects 72 of the 651 members of the Commons. The Lords has limited power. Most of its members are nobles who inherit their seats. For more information on the British government see United Kingdom (Government).

The Scottish Office. Scotland’s chief minister is the secretary of state for Scotland. This official is appointed by the prime minister and is a member of the Cabinet.

The secretary’s office called the Scottish Office, is based in Edinburgh with an additional office in London. The Scottish Office has five main departments. The Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department deals with Scotland’s agricultural and fishing industries. The Scottish Office Industry Department deals with industrial and economic development. The Scottish Office Environment Department is concerned with such fields as environmental protection housing and public utilities. The Scottish Office Education Department supervises public education. The Scottish Office Home and Health Department is responsible for criminal justice, police and fire protection prisons and public health. Each department of the Scottish Office is run by a secretary.

Devolution. Most Scots believe that Scotland should have greater control over its own affair's and they support some amount of devolution (the granting of self-government). However the amount of self-government desired differs among Scots Many want Scotland to be come an independent country within the European community, an economic organization of European nations. Many others believe that Scotland should have its own legislative assembly while remaining a part of the United Kingdom. The Scottish National Party favors independence. The Labour Party and the Social and Liberal Democratic Party, which represent more than three fourths of the Scottish members of Parliament, favor devolution within the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party opposes independence or a large degree of devolution.

People

Population. Scotland has a population of about 5 million. About three fourths of the people live in the lowlands of central Scotland a region that makes up only about a sixth of Scotland s mainland. The rugged Highlands and the hilly uplands of southern Scotland are more sparsely populated. The Highlands, which cover about two-thirds of the Scottish mainland, have some of the most thinly populated areas in Scotland. Less than 2 percent of the people live in Scotland s three island authority areas of Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles.

One of Scotland’s major problems has been emigration. Particularly in the 1960’s thousands of people left Scotland because of limited job opportunities. But new industries, such as the production of oil from the North Sea,