Office of the Permanent Secretary (Scotland)

The Office of the Permanent Secretary (OPS) was a civil service department of the Scottish Government. It was, in the past, headed by the Permanent Secretary Sir John Elvidge, who replaced Sir Muir Russell in July 2003.

The Office was made up of:

• Office of the First Minister
• Ministerial Support Group: Cabinet and Management Group Secretariat, External Support Division, Strategy and Delivery unit, Private Offices
• Analytical Services Group: The Office of the Chief Researcher, The Office of the Chief Economic Adviser, The Office of the Chief Statistician
• Office of the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland
• Performance and Innovation Unit
• Change and Corporate Services: Human Resources Division, Communication and Information Systems Division, Facilities and Estates Services, Changing to Deliver Division

Since May 2007, the departments that made up the Scottish Executive have been abolished. Functions are now delivered by directorates. The directorates that broadly mirror the former Office of the Permanent Secretary are:

• Communications
• Cabinet Directorate
• Ministerial Private Offices
• Communications Directorate
• Chief Economic Adviser