Advice to The Queen
Special arrangements for giving advice to The Queen were described in a Prime Ministerial answer on 30 June 1999 (WA col 215) and an associated paper deposited in the House of Commons Library.
Under the Professions Supplementary to Medicine Act 1960, the Privy Council makes a determination approving courses and qualifications for state registration purposes in the fields of professions supplementary to medicine. By convention the Secretary of State for Scotland was one of the three Privy Counsellors required by the Act to approve courses run by Scottish institutions. The role of the Secretary of State for Scotland in relation to such courses has passed to the First Minister.
The Secretary of State for Scotland also had a role in relation to nominating Privy Council appointments of Scottish representatives to various statutory bodies relating to the health professions, such as the General Medical Council, the General Dental Council and the General Optical Council. The First Minister has taken over the Secretary of State for Scotland’s role in nominating Privy Council appointments of Scottish representatives to these bodies. Advice and nominations for the other Privy Council appointments to these bodies comes from the Secretary of State for Health. Administrative arrangements have been put in place to provide for consultation between the Scottish Ministers and the Secretary of State for Health before either party puts forward nominations to the Privy Council.