Executive Agencies within the Scotland Territorial Programme

This article supplements the cross-sectional survey literature by focusing upon a subset of executive agencies which, though highly disparate on many dimensions, share the experience of being part of the command of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Agencies operating within the context of territorial management face markedly different operating environments. In particular, centralised financial control by the territorial department is an essential continuing feature of the public expenditure control system. The characteristics of those activities which have been agencified in Scotland are closely examined, followed by an evaluation of the implications for internal management, external accountability, the reform of the parliamentary system of Supply, and the extension of accruals accounting across central government.