Jenni Minto | |
---|---|
Minister for Public Health and Women's Health | |
Assumed office 29 March 2023 | |
First Minister | Humza Yousaf |
Preceded by | Maree Todd |
Member of the Scottish Parliament for Argyll and Bute | |
Assumed office 7 May 2021 | |
Preceded by | Michael Russell |
Majority | 8,963 (26.7%) |
Personal details | |
Born | November 1968 (age 55) [1] c Elgin,Scotland [2] |
Political party | Scottish National Party |
Jennifer Margot Minto (born 1968) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Argyll and Bute since 2021. [3] She has been serving as Minister for Public Health and Women's Health since March 2023. [4]
Minto was educated at Madras College in St. Andrews, [5] and graduated with an MA in accountancy from the University of Aberdeen in 1989. [6] She qualified as a chartered accountant in 1992. [6]
Prior to being elected as an MSP,she worked at accountancy firm KPMG,and in accounts at BBC Scotland in Glasgow. [6] She later settled on the Isle of Islay,with management roles at the Islay Energy Trust and the Museum of Islay Life. [2]
Minto was elected as her party's candidate for the election by local SNP members in November 2020, [7] and entered parliament on 8 May 2021. [8]
From 17 June 2021 - 1 Feb 2023,she sat on the Rural Affairs Islands and Natural Environment Committee. [9]
As of 2022,she sits on the Constitution,Europe,External Affairs and Culture Committee,the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee,and the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee,as well as 15 cross-party groups including the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Creative Economy and Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Tourism. [9]
In 2023,she was appointed to the Yousaf government as Minister for Public Health and Women's Health. [10]
In the late 2010s,Scottish islanders began to complain that the ageing ferry fleet that connected them to the mainland had become increasingly unreliable. [11] [12] [13] [14] During the winter of 2022 only one in three sailings to the island of Coll went ahead; [15] Hebridean shopkeepers kept receiving deliveries of rotten food; [16] [17] while other islanders said they had missed doctors’appointments,funerals and even the chance to say goodbye to dying loved ones because of cancelled sailings. [18] [19] [20]
In June 2022,Minto raised the issue in the Scottish Parliament;"I was impacted by a ferry breakdown on Monday,but thanks to the excellent CalMac staff,I and other ferry users were able to get on later ferries. Does the First Minister agree that the staff of CalMac work tirelessly to help all their customers when breakdowns happen?" Nicola Sturgeon agreed and said,"The CalMac staff do an excellent job,often in really difficult circumstances,so I want to recognise and acknowledge that". [21]
Argyll and Bute is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod. The administrative centre for the council area is in Lochgilphead at Kilmory Castle,a 19th-century Gothic Revival building and estate. The current council leader is Robin Currie,a councillor for Kintyre and the Islands.
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Caledonian MacBrayne,usually shortened to CalMac,is the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries,and ferry services,between the mainland of Scotland and 22 of the major islands on Scotland's west coast. Since 2006,the company's official name has been CalMac Ferries Ltd,although it still operates as Caledonian MacBrayne. In 2006,it became a subsidiary of holding company David MacBrayne,which is owned by the Scottish Government.
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