Directorates of the Scottish Government

{{Short description|Structure of the Scottish Government civil service}}

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The work of the Scottish Government is carried out by Directorates, each headed by a Director. The Directorates are grouped into a number of Directorates-General families, each headed by a Director-General. However, the individual Directorates are the building blocks of the system. The Directorates are further broken down into 'Divisions' and then by Units (also sometimes referred to as Branches) and finally by Teams. Divisions usually consist of 25-50 people. There is no direct correspondence between the political responsibilities of the Ministers in the Scottish Government and the Directorates, although in some cases there is considerable overlap. The Directorates are also responsible for a number of government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. Some government work is also carried out by Executive Agencies such as Transport Scotland, who sit outside the Directorates structure, but are also staffed by civil servants.

The current system of Directorates was created by a December 2010 re-organisation.{{cite web | url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/strategic-board/GovernanceandCommunities | title=Paul Gray, Director-General Rural Affairs, Environment and Services | work=Scottish Government | accessdate=7 May 2011 | quote=This notice refers to the transfer of the DG of the Scottish Government Environment Directorates in December 2010, and thus indirectly to this re-organisation. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123135653/http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/strategic-board/GovernanceandCommunities | archive-date=2012-01-23 }} Prior to 2007 the Directorates were preceded by similar structures called "Departments" that no longer exist (although the word is still sometimes used in this context).{{cite web | url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/08/23162100/1 | title=Reporting on 100 Days: Moving Scotland forward | work= Scottish Government | accessdate=15 August 2009 | quote=A new structure for Scotland's Government has been put in place, transforming the Departmental structure, moving from nine Heads of Department, to a Strategic Board with the Permanent Secretary and five Directors-General (DG), with each DG having responsibility for driving one of the Government's strategic objectives. Directors-General focus on the performance of the whole organisation against the Cabinet's agenda. The new structure means that the old Scottish Executive Departments no longer exist. Instead, each DG supports and manages a number of Directors, with these Directorates leading, presenting and developing policy for Ministers. | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624062119/https://www.gov.scot/Publications/2007/08/23162100/1 | archive-date=2016-06-24 }}

The Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government is the most senior civil servant in Scotland. The role is currently occupied by John-Paul Marks, who replaced Leslie Evans in January 2022.{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.scot/news/new-permanent-secretary/ | title=New Permanent Secretary - gov.scot | publisher=Scottish Government | accessdate=2022-02-16 }}