Humza Yousaf has appointed a 10-member Cabinet supported by 18 ministers in his first round of appointments since being confirmed as First Minister.

 

Health

  • Team Health is now Michael Matheson supported by Jenni Minto and  Maree Todd
    Rugby-playing minister, Maree Todd, remains in charge of sport, but switches her other responsibilities – giving up public health/women’s health and taking on social care and mental wellbeing.
  • Michael Matheson and Maree Todd will now be the team in charge of social care. Humza Yousaf said during the leadership campaign that he’d push back the timetable for the National Care Service legislation to allow for an ‘overhaul’ of the plan.
  • Jenni Minto moves into Maree Todd’s former role looking after public health and women’s health. 

 

Education

  • At Education, Jenny Gilruth takes over responsibility for education and skills. 
  • Natalie Don replaces Claire Haughey as the minister responsible for children and young people, including care experienced people.  The inclusion of a minister for ‘Keeping The Promise’ will be welcomed by care-experienced groups who will also be quick to point out that this bit of the portfolio is not just focused on young people – it includes care experienced older people too.
  • Graeme Dey returns to the front bench to look after HE and FE with the familiar responsibility of veterans back with him too.  He served as Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans from 2018-21.

 

Economy

  • The main change is the splitting of Finance and the Economy which previously both sat with Kate Forbes.  These are now split between Shona Robison (Finance) and Neil Gray (Wellbeing Economy/Fair Work).
  • The ministerial role vacated by Ivan McKee has lost responsibility for tourism – or at least it’s not named in Richard Lochhead’s job title so we’re unsure where that responsibility now sits.
  • Michael Matheson’s former portfolio is now split with Neil Gray’s grouping now including energy and Màiri McAllan helming net zero and just transition.
  • So Team Economy is Neil Gray, Richard Lochhead (SME, innovation, trade) and Gillian Martin (energy)
  • Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater’s responsibilities also sit here, though they have dual reports: PH across economy and social justice and LS across economy and net zero.

 

Local Government

  • Shona Robison will retain overarching responsibility for local government, previously linked with her social justice portfolio and moving with her to finance.  Her grouping includes the ministries for community wealth and public finance (Tom Arthur) and local government and planning (Joe FitzPatrick).

 

Justice

  • Angela Constance returns to the Cabinet, taking over from Keith Brown as Justice Secretary.  As a tweak to the previous title, she gets ‘Home Affairs‘ added, a term more familiar at at UK Government level but maybe that’s the point.
  • Siobhian Brown takes over from Elena Whitham as the minister with responsibility for victims and community safety. 

 

Social Justice

  • Shirley-Anne Somerville was reportedly keen to stay with education, but a move has been confirmed, to social justice.   Her first Cabinet-level role was at social security, so this feels like a return to a known area.
  • With local government now moved to sit with finance, her lieutenants will be Paul McLennan as housing minister and Emma Roddick who’ll be responsible for equalities, migration and refugees.

 

Rural Affairs / Land Reform

  • The word ‘environment‘ doesn’t appear in any  of the job titles in the new set up.  A sign of the times and of the extent to which this is a much bigger and broader topic now?  Mairi Gougeon stays put at rural affairs – with the addition of land reform, which was previously at ministerial level with Màiri McAllan.
  • Biodiversity remains with Lorna Slater though her ‘official’ lines of reporting are to Neil Gray and Màiri McAllan, not Mairi Gougeon.  Confusing, isn’t it?

 

Net Zero / Just Transition

  • Màiri McAllan is promoted to Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and the Just Transition and her ministerial role (which reported both to rural and to net zero) hasn’t been backfilled.
  • The minister for transport sits in this grouping – that’s Kevin Stewart, taking over from Jenny Gilruth (promoted to CabSec education)
  • Biodiversity remains with Lorna Slater though her ‘official’ lines of reporting

 

Housing/Planning

  • Planning, housing and tenants’ rights are now with different ministers: Joe FitzPatrick, Paul McLennan and Patrick Harvie.

 

Culture

  • Angus Robertson stays put in the role with responsibility for constitution, external affairs and culture.
  • Christina McKelvie has been a key person in the equalities brief since 2016 – initially as the committee convener and then as Minister from 2018. She takes over the culture, Europe and international relations brief.

 

Reporting to the FM

  • Three ministerial roles will sit as direct reports to the FM: drugs and alcohol policy (Elena Whitham), independence (Jamie Hepburn) and cabinet/parliamentary business (George Adam).

 

Departures

  • Kate Forbes and Ivan McKee reportedly turned down appointments. Ben Macpherson has also stepped back from a front bench role.
  • Keith Brown was not re-appointed to the Cabinet.  Clare Haughey was not re-appointed as a minister (children and young people).

 

Other points

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