The Secretary of State for the Northern Department was a position in the Cabinet of the government of Great Britain up to 1782. Before the Act of Union, 1707, the Secretary of State's responsibilities were in relation to the English government, not the British. Even after the Union, there was still a Secretary of State for Scotland until 1746, though the post was sometimes vacant. This continued the previous post of Secretary of State, Scotland. Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two Secretaries of State were not divided up in terms of area of authority, but rather geographically. Both were responsible for England and Wales.