Scotland Office no more after rebranding

● 130- year- old department gets new corporate identity to promote UK work

From 1885, it administered Scotland on behalf of the government and survived the reestablishment of the Scottish Parliament to remain an outpost of Westminster authority north of the Border.

But in name at least, the 133 year- old Scotland Office now appears to have vanished, falling victim to a corporate re - branding exercise to make it sound more British.

The department once presided over by Donald Dewar and Tom Johnston is now officially known on Whitehall by the less snappy name of the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland. Government work on behalf of S cots continues at Dover House, the Scotland Office’s historic home, but the plaque by the door now reads Secretary of State for Scotland – the job held by Borders MP David Mundell.

The changes were made without fanfare. Journalists were only alerted to therebranding by the disappearance of the words “Scotland Office” beneath the coat of arms in e- mails.

Social media channels for the department were changed in 2015 so its public face became the “UK government in Scotland”, but officials denied a wider re - branding would take place.

The changes also extend to the Wales Office, now the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales–although its HQ opposite Dover House re legates the new name to a subheading in parentheses on the plaque by the door. The Northern Ireland Office continues as it was.

Officials at the department formerly known as the Scotland Office insist that it continues to exist, and that its new identity is intended to underline the fact that other Whitehall departments also oper- ate north of the Border – and to avoid any confusion with the Scottish Government. The changes are understood to have cost less than £ 10,000.

Asked if the government had downgraded the department, the Prime Minister’ s spokesman said :“The Scotland Office continues to do the work the Scotland Office has always done.” A UK government spokeswoman said: “The change ensures people can be confident about which responsibilities the UK gov- ernment delivers and are able to identify which issues have been devolved. This will make clear the extensive role of the UK government in delivering for people in Scotland.”

SN PM P De id re Brock claimed Mr Mundell was an “absentee landlord” in his department and said“rebranding won’t change that”.

“His expensive offices in Edinburgh’s West End have been taken over by UK departments and they’ve re-brandedit the‘ UK government in Scotland’,” Ms Brock said. “It’s a total humiliation... time to end the farce and admit that the Scotland Office is history. Pack it up and spend the money on something useful.”

In 1999, the department was formally dissolved as most of its responsibilities were transferred to Holyrood. Its former offices at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh now host the Scottish Government. Having been known as the Scottish Office, it was reformed as the Scotland Office.