Annex A - Scheme of Delegation
Introduction
1. Positive management of public money is critical to retain public trust, progress Government's priorities to the greatest extent possible within the budget available and progress the National Outcomes. We all need to understand, feel accountable for and, where appropriate, be measured on our part in controlling spend, consumption and compliance to make every pound of tax-payers' money count. This scheme describes the principles, requirements, and links to the main information to aid you in the delivery of your responsibilities.
2. This document also details the internal structures for the delegation of financial and procurement responsibilities in the core Scottish Government (SG). It implements, and should be read in conjunction with the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) chapters on Accountability and Delegated Authority.
3. The Principal Accountable Officer and Accountable Officers for parts of the Scottish Administration are not answerable to the Parliament in respect of policy decisions. The Scottish Ministers determine policy and account to, and are held to account by, the Scottish Parliament for the policy decisions and actions of the Scottish Administration, including SG Executive Agencies and NMOs. The Principal Accountable Officer and Accountable Officer (AO) should ensure the propriety and regularity of the finances of the Scottish Administration and that the resources of the Scottish Administration are used applying the principles of Value for Money and Feasibility (economy, efficiency, and effectiveness) and so be able to provide assurance to Parliament that those activities are meeting the AO standards defined in the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000.
4. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, SG Executive Agencies and non-ministerial departments should adopt the principles of the Scheme of Delegation and ensure that adequate arrangements for the delegation of budgetary and purchasing authority are in place to meet business requirements and that these are documented accordingly.
5. Delegation of authority for budgets and financial responsibilities flows from Portfolio Accountable Officers (DG’s) to Directors, then to Deputy Directors and so on, therefore robust management and assurance processes alongside strong working relationships are essential to ensure the SG can effectively meet its objectives. The structure of the scheme defines roles to ensure continuity if members of staff move post. For staff below Deputy Director this delegation is achieved through job descriptions and performance objectives rather than formal written delegation.
This Scheme of Delegation explains more about:
- internal structures and working relationships
- the delegation process
- internal controls through the certificate of assurance process
- areas of financial responsibility and delegated authority
- It also contains templates for letters of delegation and where to find advice
6. The formal Scheme of Delegation across the core SG:
- ensures that Directors and Deputy Directors understand more clearly their role in relation to financial and procurement responsibilities and will therefore be in a stronger position to sub-delegate, comply with the purpose and spirit of the rules and add value through their management and oversight roles
- affords protection to Directors and Deputy Directors as the written delegations will document what individuals are authorised to do without further approval
- promotes continuity and stability - the Scheme of Delegation remains in place when individual members of staff move post
- ensures a consistent culture and approach to the application of financial responsibilities
- encourages Directors and Deputy Directors to embed financial responsibilities within the appraisal process both for themselves and for those working in their teams
7. It is essential that the SG achieves and maintains certain standards of financial and procurement performance. These standards should reflect best practice and that at each level of the organisation officials understand as clearly as possible their respective roles in relation to financial and procurement matters; and what authority to act in relation to financial and procurement matters is delegated.
8. Further detail on the Scheme and related Financial responsibilities and requirements of the Certificates of Assurance is provided in the following Annex A and B these annexes should be viewed as the Scheme’s core requirements. Budget holders should also comply with any specific financial management guidance from the Permanent Secretary and Chief Financial Officer, for example AO (Accountable Officer) spending controls that promote and support fiscal sustainability . Please contact finance if you require any further clarification. Model letters for Delegation are detailed within Annex C and Annex D.
Background
9. In accordance with section 14(1) of The Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 the Permanent Secretary to the SG is the Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration. Their responsibilities include ensuring that there is a high standard of financial management as a whole and the designation of Portfolio Accountable Officers for constituent parts of the Scottish Administration and certain other bodies. They are also responsible for signing the Governance Statment included in the SG consolidated accounts. The general responsibilities of the Principal Accountable Officer are set out in paragraph 2 of the memorandum to Accountable Officers for parts of the Scottish Administration.
10. Portfolio Accountable Officers are answerable to the Scottish Parliament for the resources for which they have a personal responsibility. They are also required to provide the Principal Accountable Officer with assurances on the systems of internal control in respect of their areas of responsibility that support the achievement of relevant policies, aims and objectives as set by the Scottish Ministers and the quality of these assurances. This includes adhering to the Scottish Public Finance Manual principles of propriety, regularity, alongside economy, efficiency and effectiveness when sustainably managing public resources.
11. The Scheme of Delegation does not dilute or divert the formal designation of accountability that flows from the Principal Accountable Officer to Portfolio Accountable Officers (Directors-General) nor the responsibility and accountability that sits with the Portfolio Accountable Officer role i.e. the Portfolio AO remains accountable for the whole, irrespective of delegation of responsibilities to Directors or below, letters conferring that Accountability are provided to the Public Audit Committee and Auditor General for Scotland and will also be published on the intranet. As noted at paragraph 4 above the Scheme of Delegation formalises and codifies good internal management practice in the delegation of financial responsibilities from Portfolio Accountable Officers to Directors and from Directors to Deputy Directors thereby facilitating financial delegations through the core SG to ensure clarity of financial and procurement responsibilities, it does not confer AO responsibilities below Portfolio AO level.
Delegated Authority
12. To assist them in their role, Portfolio Accountable Officers delegate authority for budgets and associated strategic and financial management responsibilities to Directors (or equivalents) for further sub-delegation as they consider appropriate. Further sub-delegation may be particularly appropriate in areas with responsibility for substantial budgets to ensure a comprehensive delegation of financial responsibilities.
13. To be able to undertake expenditure, the SG requires both the statutory power to undertake the activity giving rise to the expenditure and parliamentary authority to incur expenditure via the Annual Budget Act. The specific resources for which Portfolio Accountable Officers have a personal responsibility, together with associated objectives/targets/outcomes should be set out in the Budget Documents which inform the Scottish Parliament’s approval of Annual and Revised Budgets.
Process within the Scottish Government
14. A key purpose of a Scheme of Delegation and the subsequent formal written delegations is that these ensure clarity of responsibilities. With this in mind a formal written delegation of financial responsibilities will flow from Portfolio Accountable Officer to Director in the first instance and then from Director to Deputy Director. Being in receipt of a Delegation confers the responsibility to comply with rules around public spending and will only occur when the delegating officer is confident in the capabilities of the person being delegated to. In the event that this confidence is undermined through lack of compliance with rules, delegation could be withdrawn.
15. Where a further delegation from Deputy Director level is deemed to be appropriate - to ensure a comprehensive delegation of financial responsibilities - then this should be achieved through job descriptions, performance objectives, and desk instructions. It will ultimately be for the Deputy Director to consider and ensure that their division has the necessary procedures in place.
16. Formal written delegations will be issued on an annual basis following the publication of the Budget Document which supports the Budget Act and will where practicable refer to delegated budgets rather than numbers. Delegations will be made “subject to any subsequent in-year budget changes” with revised or new delegations being issued only where there are changes in areas of responsibilities.
17. Delegated Purchasing Authority (DPA) is granted to individuals by the Director, of the Scottish Procurement and Property Directorate (or nominated representative) and will be in writing based on the business need and training/experience of staff concerned. It will specify the value of contracts (excluding VAT) that the individual will be authorised to award. Directors and Deputy Directors are responsible for ensuring that all procurement activity within their business area is conducted in accordance with the SG Procurment Policy Manual.
Portfolio Accountable Officer (DG) to Director
18. The first step will be for the Portfolio Accountable Officers to issue to Directors a personal financial responsibility statement detailing the budget(s) where budget responsibility is delegated – a table with this information has been provided by Financial Management and Reporting team to facilitate this process and is published alongside this document on the intranet. Business areas need to work to achieve the resource and capital savings and efficiency targets across resource and capital budgets in line with the actions to work towards a path to balance.
- The Governance and Accountability Team within Risk, Control and Assurance Division have responsibility for ensuring that the Scheme of Delegation is updated and coordinated effectively.
- Financial Management and Reporting and Health Finance will advise DG Offices on the preparation of personal financial responsibility statements for Portfolio Accountable Officers to issue to Directors.
- business areas have a responsibility to inform Financial Management and Reporting and their respective DG Office of any changes to structural responsibilities which might have an impact on their delegation.
The delegation to Director template letter is provided in Annex C.
Director to Deputy Director
19. Following on from the formal written delegation from Portfolio Accountable Officer to Director, the Director should then arrange for a further written sub-delegation to Deputy Directors. This delegation should cover all of the budgets delegated.
20. Financial Management & Reporting, Health Finance, as appropriate, can be engaged to provide advice on tailoring the standard template letter of delegation.
The Director to Deputy Director delegation template letter is provided in Annex D.
The Certificates of Assurance
21. It is important that we make the link between the delegation of financial responsibilities and the financial elements within the Certificate of Assurance process. If the delegation of financial management responsibilities to Directors and Deputy Directors is assumed to be the first stage, then the completion of the cycle is the Certificates of Assurance process.
22. As noted, Portfolio Accountable Officers are personally answerable to the Scottish Parliament for the resources for which they are responsible. Portfolio Accountable Officers are also required to provide an assurance to the Permanent Secretary as the Principal Accountable Officer to enable them to sign the SG consolidated accounts. Portfolio Accountable Officers require assurances on the maintenance and review of internal control systems within or affecting their area of responsibility. Internal control systems comprise the whole network of systems established in an organisation to provide assurance that organisational objectives will be achieved, with particular reference to:
- financial management
- procurement management
- risk management
- asset management
- the effectiveness of operations
- the economical and efficient use of resources; (e.g. procurement, workforce planning)
- compliance with applicable policies, procedures, laws, and regulations
- safeguards against losses, including those arising from fraud, irregularity, or corruption
- the security, integrity and reliability of information and data
- performance management
23. Assurances are required following the end of each financial year, but it would only be possible to provide such assurances, without any qualification, where best practice and any relevant guidance (e.g. the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM)) had been followed throughout the accounting period. It is recognised however, that such assurances can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance.
24. The assurance framework, as set out in the SPFM Chapter on Certificates of Assurance, requires assurances from Deputy Directors to Directors supported by the completion of an Internal Control Checklist. Directors provide an appropriate written assurance based on those checklists to Portfolio Accountable Officers.
25. It is extremely important that Directors and Deputy Directors adhere to the timetable, for the completion and signing of Certificates of Assurance. A comprehensive and timely process enables the Permanent Secretary, as the Principal Accountable Officer, to sign the governance statement provided as part of the SG’s consolidated accounts with confidence.
Page updated: July 2025