Scottish Cabinet records

Background and history of the Scottish Cabinet
The Scottish Cabinet records
How to search the Scottish Cabinet records
What can I learn from the Scottish Cabinet records?
Further reading

Background and history of the Scottish Cabinet

The Scottish Cabinet is the group of senior Ministers, including the First Minister of Scotland, which is responsible for Scottish Government policy. The Scottish Cabinet came into existence in 1999, following the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and the devolved Scottish administration initially called the 'Scottish Executive'. The Cabinet usually meets weekly while the Scottish Parliament is in session to allow Ministers to discuss and make decisions on policy, legislation, and major topical issues. Since 2007, the name 'Scottish Government' was used instead of 'Scottish Executive' with the change of name later recognised in law by the Scotland Act 2012.

Historical records of the Scottish Cabinet are archived at National Records of Scotland (NRS) and made available to the public once they are more than 15 years old. Currently, records for 2005-2008 are available free of charge via the Virtual Volumes Scottish Cabinet records search on ScotlandsPeople. Earlier Scottish Cabinet records (1999-2004) can be consulted in the Historical Search Room at NRS.

Scottish Cabinet meetings are usually held at Bute House in Charlotte Square in Edinburgh, the First Minister’s official residence. The Lord Advocate normally attended Cabinet Meetings in the period from 1999 until May 2007. Currently, they attend meetings if requested by the First Minister, but are not formally considered a member of the Cabinet. Some Scottish Cabinet business is carried out by ministerial committees or groups which report back to the full Cabinet. The Scottish Cabinet is supported by officials working in the Cabinet Secretariat team, whose responsibilities include creating the Cabinet records.

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Photograph of the Scottish Cabinet with the Permanent Secretary inside Bute House, Edinburgh, 2005 (Crown copyright, NRS, SCR14/6)

The records on ScotlandsPeople include Cabinet Meetings from 2005 to 2008 plus records of Cabinet Committees and sub-groups, Cabinet business conducted by correspondence, and Ministerial draft papers.

The records cover part of the 2nd Administration, the Labour/Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive which was elected in May 2003, and the 3rd Administration, the Scottish National Party (SNP) government which was elected in May 2007.

The first Scottish Executive was formed by First Minister Donald Dewar as a coalition between the Scottish Labour Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The coalition continued under subsequent First Ministers Henry McLeish and Jack McConnell. Following the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, Alex Salmond headed a SNP minority administration.

A brief history for the period up to 2008 is found below:

May 1999: the First Scottish Parliament elections result in a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition with Donald Dewar as First Minister. The Scottish Cabinet sits for the first time.
October 2000: death of Donald Dewar. Henry McLeish becomes First Minister.
November 2001: Henry McLeish resigns as First Minister and is succeeded by Jack McConnell.
May 2003: Second Scottish Parliament elections result in a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition. Jack McConnell continues as First Minister.
May 2007: the SNP wins the highest number of seats in the third Scottish Parliamentary elections and forms a minority administration.

The Scottish Cabinet records

When the Scottish Cabinet first met in 1999 the records were kept in traditional paper files. Starting in 2004, many Scottish Cabinet records were created and stored digitally (for example, as Word or Excel documents, emails etc.) rather than in paper files. By 2005 all of the records were digital. The records from 2005-2008 are now available on ScotlandsPeople as PDF copies of the original digital records. The PDF copies still have their original document titles, and have also been given NRS references.

Scottish Cabinet records were created by Cabinet Secretariat officials and other civil servants rather than the Ministers themselves.

Please note the following:

A very small number of documents have been redacted to remove information which is exempt from release under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). When a document has been redacted, this is noted in the document title. Requests for access to the redacted information will be handled as FOISA requests.
When Excel documents were converted to PDF format for ScotlandsPeople, this process may not always have captured all of the information contained in the original record. However, the full original versions in their native Excel formats are permanently preserved at NRS, and copies can be made available on request.
Some records cannot be viewed on ScotlandsPeople, such as shortcuts or files created using specialist software. These are identified by a placeholder document.

Please contact us if you would like to request access to exempt information or original Excel documents, or if you would like more information about a record that cannot be viewed on ScotlandsPeople.

Types of record found within the collection include:

Cabinet Meetings

Agendas, numbered discussion papers, and minutes for meetings of the full Scottish Cabinet (NRS, SCR14/2/1-50, SCR14/18/1-46, SCR14/28/1-18, SCR14/58/1-35, SCR14/69-71).

Committees, Groups, Ministerial Draft Papers

Records of standing and ad hoc ministerial committees, draft papers from various Ministers, and records from other groups. Ministerial committee records often include records of formal meetings - agendas, numbered discussion papers, and minutes - as well as more general records about the administration of each committee (NRS, SCR14/3-17, SCR14/19-27, SCR14/29-57, SCR14/59-68, SCR14/72-75).

Management Group

The Scottish Executive’s Management Group was made up of senior officials from each Department plus the Crown Agent, and was chaired by the Permanent Secretary (the most senior civil servant in Scotland). The Management Group was effectively the Scottish Executive's Board, and its role was to lead the Scottish Executive by developing long-term policy with and for Ministers, and to promote the corporate management of the organisation. Includes records of formal meetings of the full Management Group and sub-Groups.

How to search the Scottish Cabinet records

The Scottish Cabinet records are not indexed. Instead you can browse different records using the Virtual Volumes Scottish Cabinet records search and see our guide on Using Virtual Volumes.

You can browse the records with the archive reference number (for example, SCR14/2/1); by year range (from 2003 to 2006); by Scottish Cabinet record creator, i.e. a Scottish Cabinet group or committee, from a drop-down list (for example, ‘Scottish Cabinet: 2nd Administration: Deputy First Minister’); or you can search the file descriptions using a keyword or phrase. You can download the records as PDFs for free.

The NRS online catalogue references, which can be used for searching and browsing the records by reference number in Virtual Volumes, are as follows:

SCR14/2/1-50: Scottish Cabinet Meetings, 2005
SCR14/3: Scottish Cabinet: Seminars, 2004-2005
SCR14/4: Joint Cabinet & Management Group Seminars, 2004-2005
SCR14/5: Scottish Cabinet Agendas, 2004-2005
SCR14/6: Scottish Cabinet: Agenda Clearance/Forward Look, 2004-2005
SCR14/7: Ad Hoc Ministerial Group on Fire and Rescue Services, 2004-2005
SCR14/8: Ad Hoc Ministerial Group on Social Work Review, 2004
SCR14/9: Ad Hoc Ministerial Group on G8 Summit, 2004-2005
SCR14/10: Ad Hoc Ministerial Group on Drugs & Alcohol, 2003
SCR14/11: Ministerial Meetings on State Aid, 2005
SCR14/12: Ministerial Group on Violence, 2005
SCR14/13: Deputy First Minister: Draft Papers, 2005
SCR14/14: Minister for Environment and Rural Development: Draft Papers, 2005
SCR14/15: Minister for Communities: Draft Papers, 2005
SCR14/16: Minister for Health and Community Care: Draft Papers, 2005
SCR14/17: Minister for Justice: Draft Papers, 2005
SCR14/18/1-46: Scottish Cabinet Meetings, 2006
SCR14/19: Deputy First Minister: Draft Papers, 2006
SCR14/20: Minister for Communities: Draft Papers, 2006
SCR14/21: Minister for Education and Young People, 2006
SCR14/22: Minister for Environment and Rural Development: Draft Papers, 2006
SCR14/23: Minister for Finance and Public Sector Reform: Draft Papers, 2006
SCR14/24: Minister for Justice: Draft Papers, 2006.
SCR14/25: Minister for Parliamentary Business: Draft Papers, 2006
SCR14/26: Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport: Draft Papers, 2006
SCR14/27: Minister for Transport: Draft Papers, 2006
SCR14/28: Scottish Cabinet, 2nd Administration: Meeting Papers, 2007
SCR14/29: Scottish Cabinet, 2nd Administration: Meeting Papers - Summary of Pre-Digest Comments, 2006-2007
SCR14/30: Scottish Cabinet, 2nd Administration: Meetings - Steering Briefs, 2005-2007
SCR14/31: Deputy First Minister, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2007
SCR14/32: Deputy First Minister, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/33: Minister for Communities, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2007
SCR14/34: Minister for Communities, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/35: Minister for Education and Young People: 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2005
SCR14/36: Minister for Education and Young People: 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2005-2007
SCR14/37: Minister for Education and Young People: 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2007
SCR14/38: Minister for Environment and Rural Development, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2007
SCR14/39: Minister for Environment and Rural Development, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/40: Minister for Finance and Public Services, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2007
SCR14/41: Minister for Finance and Public Services, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/42: Minister for Health and Community Care, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2007
SCR14/43: Minister for Health and Community Care, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2005-2007
SCR14/44: Minister for Justice, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2007
SCR14/45: Minister for Justice, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/46: Minister for Parliamentary Business, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2007
SCR14/47: Minister for Parliamentary Business, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/48: Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2006
SCR14/49: Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/50: Minister for Transport, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2007
SCR14/51: Minister for Transport, 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/52: Minister for Environment and Rural Development, 2nd Administration: Draft Papers, 2007
SCR14/53: Minister for Finance and Public Sector Reform, 2nd Administration: Draft Papers, 2007
SCR14/54: Minister for Justice, 2nd Administration: Draft Papers, 2007
SCR14/55: Minister for Transport, 2nd Administration: Draft Papers, 2007
SCR14/56: Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation (CSCL), 2nd Administration: Papers and minutes, 2006-2007
SCR14/57: Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation (CSCL), 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2006-2007
SCR14/58: Scottish Cabinet, 3rd Administration: Meeting Papers, 2007
SCR14/59: Scottish Cabinet, 3rd Administration: Meetings – Steering Briefs – First Minister’s Brief, 2007
SCR14/60: First Minister, 3rd Administration: Correspondence, 2007
SCR14/61: Permanent Secretary, 3rd Administration: Correspondence, 2007
SCR14/62: Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, 3rd Administration: Draft Papers, 2007
SCR14/63: Cabinet Secretary for Justice, 3rd Administration: Draft Papers, 2007
SCR14/68: Minister for Transport: 2nd Administration, 2005-2006
SCR14/69: Agenda, 3rd Administration, 2007-2008
SCR14/70: Meeting Papers, 3rd Administration: Master Copies, 2008
SCR14/71: Minutes, 3rd Administration, 2007-2008
SCR14/72: Draft Papers, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, 3rd Administration, 2007-2008
SCR14/73: Draft Papers, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, 3rd Administration, 2007-2008
SCR14/74: Sub-Committee, Legislation, 3rd Administration, 2007-2008
SCR14/75: Sub-Committee, SEER [Scottish Government Emergency Room], 3rd Administration, 2007-2008
SCR15/1: Guide to Cabinet correspondence: Advice and policy, 2005
SCR15/2: Guide to Cabinet correspondence: Advice and policy, 2004-2008
SCR16/1: Scottish Executive Management Group: Delivery sub-group, 2003
SCR16/2: Scottish Executive Management Group: Corporate issues sub-group, 2003
SCR17/1: Scottish Executive Management Group: Meeting papers, 2004-2005
SCR17/2: Scottish Executive Management Group: Corporate Governance, 2005
SCR17/3: Scottish Executive Management Group: 2nd Administration: Correspondence, 2004-2006

What can I learn from the Scottish Cabinet records?

The records of the Scottish Cabinet show how government ministers made decisions which affected the lives of all Scottish citizens. They allow us to understand recent events more fully, and they provide a fascinating insight into how democratic processes work. The Cabinet Records will be of particular relevance to researchers interested in political, constitutional and national history. They also include a great deal of information about local Scottish history.

The records from 2005-2008 show that the Scottish Cabinet discussed, amongst many other things: legislation to ban smoking in public places; the implementation of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002; a potential new road bridge over the Forth; the successful bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow; and discussions on constitutional change and the 'National Conversation' on whether Scotland should be an independent country.

Detail from Scottish Cabinet paper 'Parliamentary Business' with reference to preparations for the Smoking Ban in public places, 8 March 2006 (Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, SCR14/18/9)

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Detail from Scottish Cabinet paper '2014 Commonwealth Games Bid', 8 March 2006 (Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland, SCR14/18/9)