Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a' Chaibineit airson Foghlam agus Sgilean), commonly referred to as the Education Secretary (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire an Fhoghlaim), is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet responsible for all levels of education in Scotland. The Cabinet Secretary is supported by the Minister for Higher and Further Education and the Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise which are both junior ministerial posts.[2]
| Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Foghlam agus Sgilean | |
| Education Scotland Scottish Government Scottish Cabinet | |
| Style | Cabinet Secretary (within parliament) Education Secretary (informal) Scottish Education Secretary (outwith Scotland) |
| Member of | |
| Seat | Edinburgh |
| Appointer | First Minister |
| Inaugural holder | Sam Galbraith Minister for Education and Children |
| Formation | May 1999 |
| Deputy | Natalie Don (Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise) Graeme Dey (Minister for Higher and Further Education; Minister for Veterans) |
| Salary | £118,511 per annum (2023)[1] (including £67,662 MSP salary) |
| Website | www |
The current Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills is Jenny Gilruth, who assumed office on 29 March 2023.
History
The position was created in 1999 as the Minister for Children and Education; it was renamed as the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs in 2000 and given more responsibilities; those were taken away from the post in 2001 and it was renamed again as the Minister for Education and Young People. The current position of Cabinet Secretary was created following the 2007 election.
Overview
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills 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
Public bodies
The following public bodies report to the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills:
List of office holders
Minister for Children and Education | ||||||
| Name | Portrait | Entered Office | Left Office | Party | First Minister | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Galbraith | 19 May 1999 | 28 November 2001 | Labour Party | Donald Dewar | ||
Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs | ||||||
| Jack McConnell | 28 November 2001 | 22 November 2002 | Labour Party | Henry McLeish | ||
Minister for Education and Young People | ||||||
| Cathy Jamieson | 22 November 2002 | 20 May 2003 | Labour Party | Jack McConnell | ||
| Peter Peacock | 20 May 2003 | 14 November 2006 | ||||
| Hugh Henry | 14 November 2006 | 17 May 2007 | ||||
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning | ||||||
| Fiona Hyslop | 17 May 2007 | 1 December 2009 | Scottish National Party | Alex Salmond | ||
| Michael Russell | 1 December 2009 | 21 November 2014 | ||||
| Angela Constance | 21 November 2014 | 18 May 2016 | Nicola Sturgeon | |||
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills | ||||||
| John Swinney | 18 May 2016 | 20 May 2021 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon | ||
| Shirley-Anne Somerville | 20 May 2021 | 29 March 2023 | ||||
| Jenny Gilruth | 29 March 2023 | Incumbent | Humza Yousaf | |||
References
- ^ "MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Biographies and responsibilities: Ministerial responsibilities: Education portfolio". Scottish Government. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.