under devolution, scotland is represented by 59 mps in the house of commons of the united kingdom elected from territory-based scottish constituencies, out of a total of 650 mps in the house of commons. a secretary of state for scotland, who prior to devolution headed the system of government in scotland, sits in the cabinet of the united kingdom and is responsible for the limited number of powers the office retains since devolution, as well as relations with other whitehall ministers who have power over reserved matters. the scottish parliament can refer devolved matters back to westminster to be considered as part of united kingdom-wide legislation by passing a legislative consent motion — usually referred to as a sewel motion. this has been done on a number of occasions where it has been seen as either more efficient, or more politically expedient to have the legislation considered by westminster. the scotland office is a department of the government of the united kingdom, responsible for reserved scottish affairs. the current secretary of state for scotland is alister jack mp, a conservative. until 1999, scottish peers were entitled to sit in the house of lords.