The Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People was a position in the Scottish Government

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 ...

. The Cabinet Secretary had overall responsibility for

social security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

, equality and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. The Cabinet Secretary was assisted by a junior Minister, the

Minister for Older People and Equalities The Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees ( gd, Ministear airson Co-ionannachdan, Imrich agus Fògarraich) is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the Minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet.< ...

. At the start of the

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the post was combined with that of

Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government in ...

in a new position of

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, commonly referred to as the Social Justice Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary has overall responsibility for local governmen ...

Overview

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People included: *Devolved welfare policy *Devolved social security *Measures against poverty (with CSCLG) *Best Start Grant *Best Start Foods *Funeral Support Payment *Job Start Payment *Carers Allowance Supplement *Carer's Assistance *Young Carers Grant *Disability Assistance *Employment Injury Assistance *Cold Spell Heating Assistance *Winter Heating Assistance *Scottish Child Payment *Equalities *The protection and development of social and human rights *Elderly people *Cross Government co-ordination of policies in support of women and gender equality

Public bodies

The following public bodies reported to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People: *

Social Security Scotland Social Security Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''Tèarainteachd Shòisealta Alba'') is an executive agency of the Scottish Government with responsibility for social security provision. History The devolved Scottish Parliament was established in 199 ...

History

The position was first created as a junior ministerial role, the Minister for Social Security in May 2016, to reflect the increased powers of the Scottish Government over Social Security as a result of the

Scotland Act 2016 The Scotland Act 2016 (c. 11) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 and devolves further powers to Scotland. The legislation is based on recommendations given by the report of the Smit ...

. The Minister for Social Security did not attend cabinet meetings, instead being represented by the

Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, commonly referred to as the Social Justice Secretary, is a position in the Scottish Government cabinet (government), Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary has overall responsibilit ...

Angela Constance Angela Constance (born 15 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as Minister for Drug Policy since 2020, having previously served in the Scottish Cabinet from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the M ...

MSP. In June 2018 the position was raised to Cabinet Secretary level. The position was abolished at the start of the

with responsibility for social security again being combined with the communities brief in a new position of

List of office holders

References

{{reflist

External links

Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People
on the Scottish Government website Scottish Parliament Former Ministerial posts of the Scottish Government