Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
![]() Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills | |
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![]() | |
Style | Cabinet Secretary (within parliament) Education Secretary (informal) Scottish Education Secretary (outwith Scotland) |
Member of |
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Seat | Edinburgh |
Appointer | First Minister |
Inaugural holder | Sam Galbraith Minister for Education and Children |
Formation | May 1999 |
Deputy | Maree Todd (Minister for Children and Young People) Richard Lochhead (Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science) |
Salary | £112,919 annually (including £64,470 MSP salary) |
Website | www |
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, commonly referred to as the Education Secretary, 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 Further Education, Higher Education and Science and the Minister for Children and Young People which are both junior ministerial posts.[1]
The current Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills is Shirley-Anne Somerville, who assumed office on 20 May 2021.
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:
- Bòrd na Gàidhlig
- Care Inspectorate
- Children's Hearings Scotland
- Education Scotland
- Scottish Children's Reporter Administration
- Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council
- Scottish Qualifications Authority
- Scottish Social Services Council
- Student Awards Agency for Scotland
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 | Incumbent |
References[]
- ^ "Biographies and responsibilities: Ministerial responsibilities: Education portfolio". Scottish Government. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
- Education in Scotland
- Cabinet Secretary posts of the Scottish Government
- Higher education in Scotland
- Scotland education stubs
- Scotland government stubs