The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, commonly referred to as the Finance Secretary, is a member of the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary has Ministerial responsibility for the Scottish Government's Finance Directorates. The finance secretary is supported by the

Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work The Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work is a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government that was created in May 2021. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet, but supports the Cabinet Secretary ...

Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise The Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend

and Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth. The post is currently held by

Kate Forbes Kate Elizabeth Forbes is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy since 2020. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Skye, Loch ...

who replaced Derek Mackay on 17 February 2020. She is the first women to hold the position of office and was the first women to deliver the Scottish budget.

History

Following devolution in 1999, the Government of First Minister Donald Dewar instituted the position as the Minister for Finance, which was renamed the Minister for Finance and Local Government in the Government of Henry McLeish from 2000 to 2001. In the first Government of Jack McConnell, from 2001 to 2003, the position was renamed as the Minister for Finance and Public Services, changed to the Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform after a reshuffle of the

Second McConnell government The second McConnell government (20 May 2003 – 17 May 2007) was formed following the 2003 general election to the 2nd Scottish Parliament. Jack McConnell was re-appointed as First Minister on 20 May 2003 and headed another Labour–Liberal ...

in 2004. The first Government of Alex Salmond in 2007 combined the Minister for Finance element, with that of Enterprise and Transport to create the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth. After the 2011 election the position was named Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth and the transport portfolio was moved under the remit of another Cabinet position. In November 2014, the

first Sturgeon government Nicola Sturgeon formed the first Sturgeon government on 20 November 2014, following the resignation of previous SNP First Minister, Alex Salmond. Sturgeon, who had been Deputy First Minister under Salmond, was elected to succeed him by the SN ...

renamed the position to Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy, and in 2016 it was again renamed to Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution. It was further renamed to Finance, Economy and Fair Work in June 2018, taking some additional responsibilities from the position of Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work which was abolished, but losing some constitutional responsibilities to the Cabinet Secretary for Government Business and Constitutional Relations. The title was shortened to simply Cabinet Secretary for Finance in February 2020, with the responsibilities of the former Economy Secretary separated again and transferred over to the

Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, commonly referred to as the Economy Secretary or the Culture Secretary, was a Scottish Government Cabinet position with responsibility for the economy and culture of Scotland. The role w ...

. The economic responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture were again combined with those of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance on 19 May 2021 in the position of Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy.

Overview

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy include: *Scottish budget *public finances *fiscal policy and taxation *economic strategy *wellbeing economy *trade and inward investment *city and regional growth deals *enterprise *digital economy *planning *tourism *trades unions *government procurement *local government finance *public bodies policy *public sector pay

Public bodies

The following public bodies report to the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy: *

Registers of Scotland Registers of Scotland (RoS) is the non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government responsible for compiling and maintaining records relating to property and other legal documents. They currently maintain 20 public registers. The official r ...

* Revenue Scotland *

Scottish Development International Scottish Development International (SDI) is the international arm of the Scottish Government and Scotland's enterprise agencies, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise. The agency supports interna ...

Scottish Enterprise Scottish Enterprise is a non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government which encourages economic development, enterprise, innovation and investment in business. The body covers the eastern and central parts of Scotland whilst similar ...

Scottish Fiscal Commission The Scottish Fiscal Commission ( gd, Coimisean Fiosgail na h-Alba) is a non-ministerial office. It was established by the Scottish Parliament to provide independent forecasts of taxes and social security expenditure, and GDP forecasts, to help in ...

Scottish Futures Trust The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, established in September 2008 to improve public infrastructure investment. SFT operates at arm's length from the Government but works close ...

Scottish National Investment Bank The Scottish National Investment Bank is a Scottish state-owned investment and national development bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Although referred to as a bank, it does not do normal banking operations nor accepts deposits. The bank uses ...

Scottish Public Pensions Agency The Scottish Public Pensions Agency is an executive agency of the Scottish Government. It is responsible for the administration and regulation of government pension schemes in Scotland. This includes the pension schemes of NHS Scotland and for Sc ...

VisitScotland VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board, is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and other ...

List of Office holders

There have been seven office holders since the establishment of

Scottish devolution Devolution is the process in which the central British parliament grants administrative powers (excluding principally reserved matters) to the devolved Scottish Parliament. Prior to the advent of devolution, some had argued for a Scottish ...

References

External links

Scottish Government - Business and IndustryScottish Government - EconomyScottish Government - PlanningScottish Government - Transport
{{Scottish Cabinet Finance Economy ministers Transport ministers Public finance of Scotland