Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic

Last updated

Scotland
Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson na h-Eaconamaidh agus na Gàidhlig
Scottish Government Logo.svg
Kate Forbes - 53727242856.jpg
Incumbent
Kate Forbes
since 9 May 2024
Scottish Government
Scottish Cabinet
Style
  • Cabinet Secretary
    (within parliament)
  • Economy Secretary
    (informal)
  • Scottish Economy Secretary
    (outwith Scotland)
Member of
Reports to
Seat Edinburgh
Appointer First Minister
(following approval from Scottish Parliament)
Inaugural holder Keith Brown
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work
Formation18 May 2016
Deputy Minister for Business and Employment
Salary£126,452 per annum (2024) [1]
(including £72,196 MSP salary)
Website www.gov.scot

The Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic is a position in the Scottish cabinet since May 2024. [2] The current Cabinet Secretary is Kate Forbes, who has served since May 2024 alongside her role as Deputy First Minister.

Contents

The Cabinet Secretary is supported by the Minister for Business and Employment, Richard Lochhead.

History

The role was first titled Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, with the initial holder being Keith Brown, who was appointed in May 2016. At its inception, the Cabinet Secretary had responsibilities for the Scottish economy, infrastructure, trade and investment, business, industry, employment, trade unions and energy. The Cabinet Secretary was assisted by the Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy and the Minister for Employability and Training.

The post was abolished in June 2018, with the "economy" part of the brief moving to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work and the infrastructure responsibilities moving to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. [3]

In February 2020, a Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture was appointed, taking over many of the responsibilities of the former portfolio, which were thus again held separately from the Finance brief. [4] The role was later once again remerged with the Finance brief to create the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, held by Kate Forbes.

Under First Minister Humza Yousaf, Neil Gray was appointed as Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy Secretary, with the Finance brief again becoming a separate post. Following a reshuffle, Màiri McAllan held the portfolio of Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy.

In May 2024, John Swinney retitled the role to Economy and Gaelic, and appointed Kate Forbes concurrently with her role of Deputy First Minister of Scotland. McAllan retained the other part of her role as Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy. [2]

Overview

Responsibilities

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic is responsible for: [5]

Infrastructure investment

Public bodies

The following public bodies report to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic: [5]

List of Economy Secretaries

As is typical of Scottish government roles, the Economy portfolio has gone through many iterations since its inception. The current holder is Kate Forbes, who has held the role since May 2024.

NamePortraitEntered officeLeft officePartyFirst Minister
Role formed out of Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work
Keith Brown Keith Brown in 2009 (2).jpg 18 May 201626 June 2018 Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon
Role merged with Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution
Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work
Derek Mackay Derek MacKay 2018.png 26 June 20185 February 2020 Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon
Role merged with Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs and separated from Cabinet Secretary for Finance
Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture
Fiona Hyslop Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture and External Affairs (2).jpg 17 February 202019 May 2021 Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon
Role merged with Cabinet Secretary for Finance
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy
Kate Forbes Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, Kate Forbes, 2021.jpg 20 May 202128 March 2023 Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon
Role separated from Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy
Neil Gray Official portrait of wellbeing economy secretary Neil Gray.jpg 29 March 20238 February 2024 Scottish National Party Humza Yousaf
Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy
Màiri McAllan Official portrait of net zero secretary Mairi McAllan.jpg 8 February 20248 May 2024 Scottish National Party Humza Yousaf
Role separated from Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
Kate Forbes Deputy First Minister - designate and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic - designate, Kate Forbes (53707856301) (cropped).jpg 9 May 2024Incumbent Scottish National Party John Swinney

References

  1. ↑ "MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 13 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 "New Scottish Cabinet". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  3. ↑ "New Cabinet appointed". Scottish Government. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "Cabinet Appointments". Scottish Government. 17 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic". Scottish Government. Retrieved 13 May 2024. Open Government Licence logo.svg Text was copied from this source, which is available under an Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
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