Scottish Secretary John Reid has a much smaller role than his predecessor Donald Dewar although he remains a member of the UK cabinet

The Scottish secretary has a liaison role between Westminster and Holyrood. Responsibilities for all areas of public life previously determined by the Scottish secretary have now been transferred to Edinburgh.

He negotiates with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the amount of money Scotland will get from the UK government, but it is for the Scottish Parliament to decide how that funding is divided up.