Scotland

F

Services and Tourism

A marked expansion has occurred in the services sector since the 1950s, and it now employs 70 per cent of the workforce. Financial and business services are one of the fastest-growing service sectors. About one third of investment funds in Britain are managed from Scotland, which is also a base for a large number of insurance companies. Tourism is another major growth area, employing more than 200,000 people in the mid-2000s. In 2005 there were 24 million visitor stays in Scotland, with tourists spending about £4 billion.

G

Transport and Communications

Scotland had a network of 54,776 km (34,036 mi) of roads, including about 383 km (238 mi) of motorways in 2005. About 4,376 km (2,720 mi) of railways serve Scotland. Under the Conservative government’s programme for privatization of the railways, initiated in 1993, the East Coast Main Line linking London and Edinburgh was one of the first six passenger lines to be franchised to private operators, in late 1995. The West Coast Main Line was privatized in March 1997. Public buses provide transport throughout most of the country, although services are less extensive than in the past; in more remote rural areas the “post bus” is an important lifeline. Glasgow has its own underground railway system. Many transatlantic flights use Prestwick Airport near Glasgow. Glasgow International Airport, Britain’s sixth-busiest airport, handles more than 1 million passengers a month. Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports are also among the ten busiest airports in Britain. Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) operates ten airports for inter-island journeys. Ferry services also link the islands with mainland Scotland.

Scotland has its own BBC television stations and there are also independent television broadcasters. The country also has access to Gaelic language television and radio services. A number of daily newspapers, including The Scotsman, Daily Record, and The Herald, are published in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

V

Government

Scotland is governed as an integral part of the United Kingdom (see United Kingdom: Government). It is represented by 59 Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons (prior to the 2005 general election the number was 72). With the parliamentary elections of May 6, 1999, Scotland gained its own Scottish Parliament for the first time in nearly 300 years. There are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).

A

Executive and Legislature

As of May 1999, Scotland achieved its own parliament. The new Scottish Parliament has powers over agriculture; fisheries and forestry; economic development; education; environment; food standards; health; home affairs; law; police; fire service; local government; sport and the arts; transport; training; tourism; research and statistics; and social work. Westminster retains power over abortion; broadcasting policy; civil service; common markets for the United Kingdom; goods and services; constitution; electricity; coal; oil; gas; nuclear energy; defence and national security; drug policy; employment; foreign policy and relations with Europe; most aspects of transport safety and regulation; national lottery; protection of borders; social security; and the stability of the United Kingdom's fiscal, economic, and monetary system.

The Scottish Parliament has an annual budget and has the ability to increase or decrease its overall budget by varying the rate of income tax for Scottish residents by up to 3 pence. The parliament, which sits for a four-year term, consists of 129 members, elected by a mixture of the first-past-the-post electoral system and a form of proportional representation known as the additional member system. Of the 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), 73 are elected from constituencies under the traditional first-past-the-post system and 56 are selected from party lists in the country's 8 electoral regions. These regions are the same as the current European parliamentary boundaries, and seven MSPs are selected for each region. The first sitting was a week after the May 6, 1999 election, when the first minister, the executive, and presiding officer were appointed. The official opening was on July 1, 1999, and was performed by Queen Elizabeth II. The Scottish Parliament replaces the system whereby Scottish affairs were administered by a British Cabinet ministry, the Scottish Office, headed by a Secretary of State for Scotland. As of June 2003 the Scottish Office became part of the new Department of Constitutional Affairs, though the Secretary of State for Scotland continues to represent Scotland in the British Cabinet.

Before the union of Scotland and England in 1707, Scotland had developed its own system of law, which continued after the union. The Scottish law system is based on civil law, which is derived from ancient Roman law, whereas the other parts of the United Kingdom follow the common law, which originated in England with the evolution of case law and precedents. Because of the different systems of law, separate statutes or statutory provisions are often enacted by Parliament for application only in Scotland. Any statute must state expressly or imply that it is applicable to Scotland in order to become enforceable. See also England: English Law.

B

Judiciary

The Scottish judiciary is organized separately from that of the rest of the United Kingdom. The two highest courts of Scotland are the High Court of Justiciary (criminal) and the Court of Session (civil). A panel of about 30 judges—the number varies from time to time—is provided for both courts together. Major criminal trials are held before one or two judges of the High Court of Justiciary and a 15-member jury; criminal appeals may be heard by a bench of at least three judges. The Court of Session is divided into an Outer House, which holds all divorce trials and the more important civil trials, and an Inner House, which functions chiefly as an appellate court in civil cases. Appeals to the British House of Lords may be made from the Court of Session; appellate judgments of the High Court of Justiciary are final.

Each of the six sheriffdoms, into which Scotland is divided (Glasgow and Strathkelvin; Grampian, Highland and Islands; Lothian and Borders; North Strathclyde; South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway; and Tayside, Central, and Fife), has a sheriff court for less important civil and criminal cases. Petty cases are tried by police courts and justices of the peace. One well-known difference between the Scottish legal system and that of England and Wales is that in Scotland, a jury can give a verdict of “not proven” when, as with a “not guilty” verdict, the accused is acquitted.