The Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People was a position in the
Scottish Government Cabinet. 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 specifical ...
, equality and
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or 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 certain standards of hu ...
. 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 Government of the 4th Scott ...
.
At the start of the
third Sturgeon government
Nicola Sturgeon formed the third Sturgeon government following her Scottish National Party's victory in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Sturgeon was nominated by a vote of the 6th Scottish Parliament for appointment to the post of Fi ...
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 i ...
in a new position of
.
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
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 Smi ...
. The Minister for Social Security did not attend cabinet meetings, instead being represented by the
,
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
third Sturgeon government
Nicola Sturgeon formed the third Sturgeon government following her Scottish National Party's victory in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Sturgeon was nominated by a vote of the 6th Scottish Parliament for appointment to the post of Fi ...
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