The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (), commonly referred to as the Social Justice Secretary, is a position in the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary has overall responsibility for community planning,

social security Welfare spending 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 specifically to social insurance ...

, the third sector. The current Cabinet Secretary is

Shirley-Anne Somerville Shirley-Anne Somerville (born 2 September 1974) is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice in the devolved Scottish government since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Membe ...

since 2023. The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by one junior Minister, the Minister for Equalities.

History

From 2007 to 2009 the Minister for Communities and Sport was a

junior minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry (government department), ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is desi ...

ial post in the

. In 2009, sport was linked with public health and the role became the Minister for Housing and Communities. Following the 2011 election, the role was reorganised as Minister for Housing and Welfare but as a junior ministerial position, the Minister did not attend the Scottish Cabinet.Scotland Act (1998)
''Only those appointed under Section 47 of the Scotland Act "attend" Cabinet. Junior ministers are appointed under Section 49 and may be "present".'' A cabinet post was created in April 2014 as a result of

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...

's gender-balancing cabinet reshuffle. The post was Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners' Rights with

Shona Robison Shona McRory Robison (born 26 May 1966) is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she previously served as Deputy First Minister of Sc ...

at the helm. This was short-lived, however, as the job was further restyled as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights as a result of

Nicola Sturgeon Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) sin ...

's first reshuffle after she became First Minister in November 2014, with Alex Neil being given the role. This was further rebranded in May 2016 as Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities in the second Sturgeon government, being held by

Angela Constance Angela Constance (born 15 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Alm ...

. Between 2018 and 2021 the role was divided between

as Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, and Aileen Campbell as Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government. Following the appointment for 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 First ...

, the role was re-merged with Shona Robison appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government. Shirley-Anne Somerville was re-appointed to the role, as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, at the start of the first Yousaf government and retained her position in the second Yousaf government and the

Swinney government John Swinney formed the Swinney government on 8 May 2024, following his appointment as First Minister of Scotland at the Court of Session. The government was approved by parliamentary vote thanks to the abstention of Green Party of Scotland, Scotti ...

Overview

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice are: * Baby Box *benefit automation and advice services *human rights *minimum income guarantee *Ministerial Taskforce on Population *national mission for tackling child poverty *Office of Chief Social Policy Advisor *Scottish Government benefits (development and delivery) *Scottish Welfare Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) *

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

, tackling

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and inequalities * Social Security Scotland *third sector, social enterprises and

Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR; ) is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government with responsibility for the regulation of charities in Scotland. OSCR is the independent regulator and registrar for more than 25,000 Scottish ch ...

(OSCR) *UN treaty incorporation including

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of ch ...

(UNCRC)

Public bodies

The following public bodies report to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justic:Justice: * Social Security Scotland

List of office holders

References

External links

Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government
on the Scottish Government website {{Scottish Cabinet Scottish Parliament Cabinet secretary posts of the Scottish Government