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.
