Cabinet Office Ministerial Responsibilities
The Advocate General for Scotland is a Minister of the Crown and is one of the three UK Law Officers. Along with the Attorney General and the Solicitor General for England and Wales, the Advocate General provides legal advice to all UK Government Departments on a wide range of issues including on human rights, European and constitutional law.
The Advocate General is also the UK Government’s principal legal adviser on Scots law and is the UK Government’s senior representative to the Scottish legal community.
The Advocate General is the Minister responsible to the UK Parliament for his office which is made up of the Office of the Solicitor to the Advocate General (OSAG) and the Legal Secretariat, as well as his Private Office.
OSAG provides legal services in Scotland to UK Government Departments. This includes legal advice in relation to Scots law, drafting or instructing Scottish Parliamentary Counsel (UK) in relation to UK legislation applying to Scotland, and representing Government Departments in litigation before the Scottish Courts. The Legal Secretariat assists the Advocate General in respect of his functions as a Law Officer.
The Advocate General for Scotland is a Minister and one of the three UK Law Officers. He is the UK Government’s principal legal adviser on Scots law and represents the UK Government before the Scottish Courts. His principal statutory functions are in relation to devolution issues raised under the Scotland Act 1998.