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
Incumbent
Jenny Gilruth
since 29 March 2023
Education Scotland
Scottish Government
Scottish Cabinet
StyleCabinet Secretary
(within parliament)
Education Secretary
(informal)
Scottish Education Secretary
(outwith Scotland)
Member of
SeatEdinburgh
AppointerFirst Minister
Inaugural holderSam Galbraith
Minister for Education and Children
FormationMay 1999
DeputyNatalie 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)
Websitewww.gov.scot

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
  1. "MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 5 April 2023.
  2. "Biographies and responsibilities: Ministerial responsibilities: Education portfolio". Scottish Government. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2015.


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