The government has announced a reduction in the size of the Scotland Office following the reshuffle shake-up.

The move follows confusion about the role of the department following the decision to scrap the position of a full-time Scotland secretary.

Following the creation of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, 31 jobs in the Scotland Office are to be cut.

The overhaul will reduce the size of the secretary of state's team - which forms part of the wider "umbrella department" - to just 65 staff.

And the Scotland Office's Glasgow headquarters are to be closed as part of the £1.7 million reduction in costs.

The announcement came in a written statement from Scotland secretary Alistair Darling.

He announced that the money would be added to the budget of the Scottish executive.

The move was welcomed by the SNP which has led a campaign for a reduction in the scale of the satellite office.

The party's chief whip at Westminster Pete Wishart MP said: "The SNP have been campaigning for months for the complete abolition of the Scotland Office - it is ridiculous that it still exists, now that it is no longer even a proper department of government.

"This is a step in the right direction, but all of the resources that are being wasted on the Scotland Office should be transferred to the Scottish parliament, for spending on health and education."