Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care


Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Slànachadh SNS, Slàinte agus Cùram Sòisealta
Incumbent
Michael Matheson
since 29 March 2023
Health and Social Care Directorates
NHS Scotland
Scottish Government
Scottish Cabinet
StyleCabinet Secretary
(formal)
Health Secretary
(informal)
Member of
  • Scottish Parliament
  • Scottish Cabinet
Reports toThe First Minister of Scotland and the Scottish Parliament
SeatEdinburgh
AppointerFirst Minister
Term lengthNone
The Cabinet Secretary is appointed by the First Minister following a resignation or cabinet reshuffle.
Inaugural holderSusan Deacon
Minister for Health and Community Care
FormationMay 1999
DeputyMaree Todd
(Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport)
Kevin Stewart
(Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care)
Salary£118,511 per annum (2023)[1]
(including £67,662 MSP salary)
Websitewww.gov.scot

The Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Slànachadh SNS, Slàinte agus Cùram Sòisealta), commonly referred to as the Health Secretary (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire na Slàinte), is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for the Health and Social Care Directorates and NHS Scotland.

The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by the Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport, Maree Todd and Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, Kevin Stewart.

The current Cabinet Secretary is Michael Matheson.

History

The position was created in 1999 as the Minister for Health and Community Care, with the advent of devolution and the institution of the Scottish Parliament, taking over some of the roles and functions of the former Scottish Office that existed prior to 1999. After the 2007 election the Ministerial position was renamed to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.

After the 2011 election the full Ministerial title was Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy with the portfolio being expanded to include Cities Strategy which was part of the SNP manifesto to have a dedicated "Minister for Cities"; at the same time the responsibility for housing was removed and transferred to the new Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment. Responsibilities for the cities strategy and the delivery of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were later transferred to other members of the cabinet.[2]

After the 2016 election, the name of the post was changed to simply Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, the post was retitled to Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.

Overview

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care include:

  • NHS Scotland and its performance, staff and pay
  • health care and social integration
  • patient services and patient safety
  • primary care
  • allied Healthcare services
  • carers, adult care and support
  • child and maternal health
  • medical records, health improvement and protection

Public bodies

The following public bodies report to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care:

List of office holders

Minister for Health and Community Care

Name Portrait Entered Office Left Office Party First Minister
Susan Deacon[3]: 2–4  19 May 1999 28 November 2001 Labour Party Donald Dewar
Malcolm Chisholm[3]: 5–7 [4]: 2–4  28 November 2001 6 October 2004 Labour Party Henry McLeish
Jack McConnell
Andy Kerr[4]: 3–8  6 October 2004 17 May 2007 Labour Party Jack McConnell

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing

Nicola Sturgeon 17 May 2007 19 May 2011 Scottish National Party Alex Salmond

Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy

Nicola Sturgeon 19 May 2011 5 September 2012 Scottish National Party Alex Salmond

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing

Alex Neil 5 September 2012 21 November 2014 Scottish National Party Alex Salmond

Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport

Shona Robison 21 November 2014 18 May 2016 Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport

Shona Robison 18 May 2016 26 June 2018 Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon
Jeane Freeman 26 June 2018 19 May 2021 Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care

Humza Yousaf[5] 20 May 2021 28 March 2023 Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon

Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care

Michael Matheson 29 March 2023 Incumbent Scottish National Party Humza Yousaf

References

  1. ↑ "MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 5 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Cabinet and Ministers: biography and responsibilities". Scottish Government. 26 June 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  3. 1 2 Scottish Parliament Fact sheet FS2-06. Ministers, Law Officers and Ministerial Parliamentary Aides by Cabinet: Session 1 (PDF) (Report). Scottish Parliament. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 Scottish Parliament Fact sheet FS2-07. Ministers, Law Officers and Ministerial Parliamentary Aides by Cabinet: Session 2 (PDF) (Report). Scottish Parliament. 8 June 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "Scottish Cabinet reshuffle: Nicola Sturgeon unveils new team". The National. Scotland. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.


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