The Scottish Cabinet

First Minister

Nicola Sturgeon MSP

Head of the Scottish Government: responsible for development, implementation and presentation of Government policy, constitutional affairs, and for promoting and representing Scotland.

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Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills

John Swinney MSP

Responsibilities include:

• school standards, quality and improvement
• school infrastructure & staffing
• educational attainment, qualifications and closing the attainment gap
• National Improvement Framework
• teaching profession
• behaviour and measures to combat bullying
• modern languages and the Gaelic and Scots languages
• Named Person
• Skills Development Scotland
• non-advanced vocational skills
• historical abuse enquiry

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Cabinet Secretary for Justice

 

Humza Yousaf MSP

Responsibilities include:

• police
• courts, sentencing
• justice system and criminal law procedure
• violence reduction
• criminal justice social work, victims, witnesses, female offenders
• human rights
• prisons and prisoners
• reducing reoffending
• security
• youth justice

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Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People

Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP

Responsibilities include:

• welfare policy, social security
• measures against poverty (with CSCLG)
• Best Start Grant (replacing the UK Government's Sure Start Maternity Grant)
• Funeral Expense Assistance (replacing the UK Government's Funeral Payment)
• Carers Allowance (at which point we will stop paying Carers Allowance Supplement)
• Young Carers Grant
• Personal Independence Payments
• Disability Living Allowance
• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
• Attendance Allowance
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• Cold Weather Payments
• Winter Fuel Payments

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Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work

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Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform

Roseanna Cunningham MSP

Responsibilities include:

• climate change and environmental protection
• biodiversity
• Crown Estate
• environmental and climate justice
• flood prevention & coastal erosion
• land use and land reform
• animal welfare
• wildlife crime
• water quality and Scottish Water

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Cabinet Secretary for The Rural Economy

Fergus Ewing MSP

Responsibilities include:

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Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport

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Aileen Campbell MSP

Responsibilities include:

• social justice
• tackling inequalities
• measures against poverty (with CSSS)
• community empowerment, devolution to communities and reform of local government
• democratic renewal
• third sector and social economy
• advocacy and advice
• religious and faith organisations

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Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs

Fiona Hyslop MSP

Responsibilities include:

• international relations
• creative industries
• culture and the arts
• architecture and built heritage
• broadcasting
• tourism
• co-ordination on bringing major events to Scotland
• National Records and national identity

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Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations

Michael Russell MSP

Responsibilities include:

• The UK's exit from the European Union
• Government and parliamentary business
• Constitutional Relations and intra-governmental affairs

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Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity

Responsibilities include:

• transport and public transport
• infrastructure investment policy
• cities & City Deals
• town centres

Ministers

Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans

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Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning

Kevin Stewart MSP

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Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands

Paul Wheelhouse MSP

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Minister for Community Safety

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Minister for Children and Young People

Maree Todd MSP

Responsibilities include:

• childcare implementation
• early years
• child protection
• adoption and fostering
• children's hearings
• children's rights
• children's services
• looked after children
• protection of vulnerable groups
• social service workforce

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Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills

Jamie Hepburn MSP

Responsibilities include:

• business, industry and manufacturing
• employment policy
• labour market strategy, the living wage, and fair work
• employability programmes
• youth employment (including implementation of the Wood Commission recommendations)
• women's employment
• bankruptcy and Accountant in Bankruptcy (Scottish government agency)
• regional economic forums
• PACE
• non-advanced vocational skills
• skills Development Scotland (Scotland's national skills agency)
• consumer protection

Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing

Joe FitzPatrick MSP

Responsibilities include:

• health improvement
• public health and healthy working lives
• physical activity, sport, sporting events and events legacy
• problem alcohol use and recovery, and drugs policy
• Care Inspectorate
• carers
• child and maternal health (excluding mental health)
• health protection
• person-centred care
• self-directed support
• sexual health 

Minister for Mental Health

Clare Haughey MSP

Responsibilities include:

• mental health
• child and adolescent mental health
• adult support and protection
• autism, sensory impairment and learning difficulties
• dementia
• Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (safeguards the rights of people with mental health problems, learning disabilities, dementia and related conditions)
• survivors of childhood abuse
• The State Hospital (Carstairs)

Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development

Ben Macpherson MSP

Responsibilities include:

• migration policy
• international development
• cross government co-ordination on the European Union
• Fair Trade
• Scottish diaspora

Minister for Older People and Equalities

Christina McKelvie MSP

Responsibilities include:

• equalities
• protection and development of social and human rights
• older people
• disabilities
• cross government co-ordination of policies in support of women and gender equality

Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation

Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment

Mairi Gougeon MSP

Responsibilities include:

• Animal health & welfare
• Marine planning
• National Parks and natural heritage
• Physical and marine environment
• Sustainable development 

 

Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science

Richard Lochhead MSP

Responsibilities include:

• Further education and colleges
• Higher education and universities
• Science and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)
• Student funding
• Youth work
• Widening access

Lord Advocate

James Wolffe QC

The Lord Advocate, also known as Her Majesty’s Advocate, is the senior Scottish Law Officer. The following are the Lord Advocate’s main functions:

• Head of the systems for the investigation and prosecution of crime and investigation of deaths
• Principal legal adviser to the Scottish Government
• Representing the Scottish Government in civil proceedings
• Representing the public interest in a range of statutory and common law contexts

All prosecutions on indictment run in the name of the Lord Advocate.

Solicitor General

Alison Di Rollo       

The Solicitor General is a Scottish Law Officer. The Solicitor General supports the Lord Advocate in the exercise of the Lord Advocate’s functions, and may exercise, as required, his statutory and common law powers.