THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

The Parliament of Scotland examines the works and activities of the Scottish Government. Even though Scotland is part of the United Kingdom a referendum approved devolution of political authority to Scotland though not absolutely but on major matters. The term devolution means the transfer or delegation of some powers and functions from the Central Government to the local or regional administration. This devolution has allowed decisions on a local level to be taken up by the Scottish Parliament.

The term referendum means a general vote by the electorates in a country or a particular area on a particular political question or proposal of a law which has been referred to them for their direct vote. Electorate means the people in a country who are entitled to vote. Scotland has retained its political, cultural and legal identity.

It was under the Scotland Act, 1998 that a separate Scottish Parliament was created for Scotland. The Scotland Act, 2016 devolves a range of further powers to the Scottish Parliament for its governance. The Scottish Parliament has powers to legislate over matters that have devolved. Though on certain issues the Parliament of UK alone can take decisions but certain local matters can be taken up in the Scottish Parliament without needing any approval from the UK Parliament and can be accordingly decided. The matters which are the responsibility of the UK Parliament are known as reserved matters that are discussed and debated in the UK Parliament.