How does the Scottish Parliament work?

The Scottish Parliament is made up of 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).  One of the 129 MSPs is elected by the others to serve as the Presiding Officer.  Two MSPs are elected as Deputy Presiding Officers.

 What is the difference between the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government?

The relationship between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament is similar to the relationship between the UK Government and the UK Parliament at Westminster.

Like the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament passes laws. It also scrutinises the work and policies of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government is the government in Scotland for all devolved matters. At Devolution, the powers and duties exercised by UK Ministers in Scotland, relating to devolved matters, were transferred to the Scottish Ministers. Most of the responsibilities previously held by the Scottish Office have become part of the remit of the Scottish Executive.

The Scottish Government is formed from the party or parties holding a majority of seats in the Parliament.

The members of the Government are collectively referred to as 'the Scottish Ministers'. All Ministers are MSPs. This means that they are part of two separate organisations: the Scottish Government (Ministers) and the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).

For more information please see the factfile The Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government - Roles and Responsibilities.

Why are there both MSPs and MPs and what do they do?
  
There are 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). MSPs represent their constituents on matters which are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, such as Education, Health and the Environment.

There 72 MPs representing Scotland in the House of Commons at Westminster. Their role is to represent their constituents on reserved matters which include Defence, Foreign Affairs, National Security and Employment.

You should contact your MSP(s) for devolved matters and your MP for reserved matters. The Scottish Parliament Public Information Service can confirm for you whether a matter is devolved or reserved.

How are MSPs Elected?

The voting system used by the Scottish Parliament is known as the Additional Member System (AMS). AMS is a type of proportional representation. This means that the share of seats each party receives reflects its level of support among voters.
At a Scottish Parliament election each voter has 2 votes. With the first vote, voters choose between candidates standing in their constituency. The candidate winning the largest number of votes will gain the seat.
There are a total of 73 constituency MSPs.
The second vote is for a political party, or for a candidate standing as an individual, within a larger electoral area called a Scottish Parliament Region.
There are 8 Scottish Parliament Regions. Each region has 7 additional seats in the Parliament. Within each region, parties are allocated additional seats dependent upon the number of constituency seats it won.
The members chosen to fill these 56 additional seats are known as 'regional members'.
Each voter will have one constituency MSP and 7 regional MSPs. All MSPs have equal status in the Parliament.