ABSTRACT
Unity in diversity is in fact one of the characteristic features of the Scottish Office. It is perhaps worth mentioning that the overwhelming majority of civil servants in the Scottish Office are Scots—born and educated in Scotland and working in Edinburgh. This chapter discusses the Scottish Office proper, the Ministers and the Permanent Under-Secretary of State, and the relationships which the departments have in common with Parliament and other Government departments in London and with the town and county councils and other local bodies in Scotland. The Secretary of State has a principal and an assistant private secretary and the Minister of State and Parliamentary Under-secretaries of State have one private secretary each. Rather as federal states may act through one central body for such matters as foreign affairs and defence, there are certain services which the Secretary of State’s departments share in common because it is more efficient and more economical to do so.
