1 A new Scottish Parliament
The Scotland Act 1998 established a new Scottish Parliament with 129 seats. The current Scottish Parliament has a unicameral parliament, meaning that, unlike the UK Parliament, there is only one parliamentary chamber.
The Scotland Act 1998 gave the Scottish Parliament power to make laws (both primary and secondary legislation) in a number of areas. The Scotland Act 1998 also established a Scottish Government (at that time referred to as Executive). This consists of the First Minister and a number of ministers appointed by the First Minister. Members include the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland. The monarch appoints the First Minister. They are usually the leader of the party with the most seats in the Scottish Parliament. The roles of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government differ. In this course you consider the Scottish Parliament; if you wish to learn more about the role of the Scottish Government you can explore their website [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .
