The Scottish Parliament Revenue and Competitors

The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 elected representatives, who are known as Members of the Scottish Parliament or MSPs. The Scotland Act 1998 established the first Parliament in Scotland since 1707. The first elections to the Scottish Parliament took place in May 1999 and the Parliament took up its full powers on 1 July 1999. The Scottish Parliament can pass laws affecting Scotland on a wide range of domestic issues. The Scottish Parliament also has power over a range of taxes, including much of Income Tax, Land and Buildings Transaction Tax and Landfill Tax. The Scottish Parliament has power to make laws on a range of issues that are known as devolved matters. Devolved matters include: • agriculture • civil and criminal justice • education • environment • health • housing • local government • planning • police and fire services • social work • sport and the arts • transport • some tax varying powers Some issues concerning Scotland that have a UK or international impact remain the responsibility of the UK Parliament alone. These are known as reserved matters and include foreign affairs, defence, immigration and social security.