Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Official Report 1156KB pdf

Junior Minister

The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-13703, in the name of the First Minister, on the appointment of a junior Scottish minister. Members should note that the question on the motion will be put immediately after the debate.

Before I turn to the ministerial appointment, I take the opportunity to clarify a point from my programme for government statement, in which I referred to this weekend’s opening of a major section of the Aberdeen western peripheral route. I want to make it clear that the opening event is this weekend and that it will open to traffic in the coming weeks. However, it remains the case that the whole road will be open to traffic in the autumn of this year.

I now seek Parliament’s approval that Richard Lochhead be appointed as a junior Scottish minister. Of course, this will not be the first time that Richard has held ministerial office. During his previous time in Government, he had a number of notable achievements. He was a tireless champion of Scottish rural industries at home and abroad, as well as being instrumental in driving the growth of our food and drink sector, which continues to go from strength to strength. On the very day that the programme for government confirms plans to ban plastic cotton buds, we should remember that the first steps in tackling plastic waste were taken when Richard implemented the plastic bag levy, which has been a huge success, raising millions of pounds for good causes and causing plastic bag use to plummet.

In 2016, Richard took a step back from Government to support his family in an extremely difficult time, and all of us are very pleased that he now feels ready to return to the front bench. Of course, Richard being Richard, he remained a campaigning politician who never wavered in standing up for his constituents. On delivery charges in particular, he has led a highly effective campaign, in which he has highlighted the United Kingdom Government’s continued failure to act on what is a significant injustice for not only his constituents but rural communities across Scotland and has forced action by companies, the Advertising Standards Authority and trading standards.

Subject to Parliament’s approval later this afternoon, I have asked Richard Lochhead to take up the role of Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science. His new portfolio is one of the most important in the Government in terms of building our long-term success. Among other things, he will be responsible for the key Scottish Government priority of widening access to university, where we are already seeing improvements in our journey towards 20 per cent of university students coming from the 20 per cent most deprived areas. He will also help to shape the future of our higher education institutions, which is a pivotal part of our economic future.

He is perfectly placed to work with both sectors, as he was first a graduate of college before returning to his studies at university later on. It will give me great pleasure to welcome Richard Lochhead back to the Government and I hope that MSPs from across the chamber will wish him well in what is a very important job.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees that Richard Lochhead MSP be appointed as a junior Scottish Minister.

Richard Lochhead is one of the few remaining 1999ers in the Scottish Parliament, a parliamentary veteran and no stranger to the Government benches.

Richard Lochhead is a native of Paisley in my region of West Scotland, but like many Scots before him he has travelled far from the place of his birth. He seemed determined to win a constituency in the north of Scotland or at least see as much of it as he possibly could, standing in Gordon in 1997 and Aberdeen Central in 1999 and 2003, before winning Moray in 2006. By that time he had already served as a regional MSP for North East Scotland for seven years.

Richard Lochhead previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, and in that capacity I worked with him, promoting the sale of compost bins. Together, we sold more than 1 million compost bins to households throughout Scotland. There is a picture of each of us inside a compost bin, which was part of the promotional campaign. When I say that, I wonder how we managed to shift a million of them. I have the photograph, but I am not sure which one of us would lose the most political credibility were I to release it to social media.

Richard Lochhead is a champion of the circular economy, and in that regard we are kindred spirits. His new portfolio is a critical one, driving forward education and learning. I know that he will work hard, as he was named joint fourth hardest-working MSP this summer by Philip Sim.

We might be opponents, but, in this endeavour of improving education, I genuinely wish him well.

The question is, that motion S5M-13703, in the name of the First Minister, be agreed to.

Motion agreed to.

The First Minister may now invite Her Majesty to approve the appointment of Richard Lochhead as a junior Scottish minister. I offer my congratulations on his reappointment. [Applause.]