大象传媒

Public sector

Ambulances outside a hospital
Figure caption,
NHS Scotland operates in the public sector

The public sector means the organisations run by government that exist to provide a service for the population and communities.

Money to pay for these is raised through a variety of taxes, eg:

Once this tax is collected it is allocated to various government budgets.

There are three different levels of government in Scotland:

  • UK Government
  • Scottish Government
  • local government
How the scottish government works within the uk government
Figure caption,
The UK and Scottish governments control different parts of the public sector

UK Government

The Houses of Parliament
Image caption,
The Houses of Parliament

The UK Government is based in Westminster. Matters which are run by the UK Government rather than by the Scottish Government are called 鈥渞eserved鈥 matters. These include:

  • economic policy
  • defence
  • international relations

The UK Government also oversees the running of organisations which we call public corporations. These organisations are founded by an Act of Parliament and are usually funded by taxpayers.

The 大象传媒 is an example of a public corporation. It was founded by the 1922 Broadcasting Act, and is funded by the TV licence fee. It is not directly run by the UK government.

Scottish Government

The Scottish Parliament
Image caption,
The Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Government is based in Holyrood. It is responsible for 鈥渄evolved鈥 matters. These include:

  • health
  • education
  • police
  • transport

The Scottish Government has some limited income tax raising powers and receives a block grant from the UK Government. The Scottish Government sets the budget for running Scotland.

Scottish local government

Scottish local government is made up of 32 local authorities 鈥 often referred to as councils. They are allocated budgets by the Scottish Government and use these funds to run many local services. These include:

  • housing
  • libraries
  • schools
  • bin collection and recycling