Alex Salmond's team just got bigger but well-known faces remain

ALEX Salmond put continuity before change as he unveiled a beefed-up Cabinet that keeps faith with the ministerial team from his first spell in office.

The First Minister yesterday announced that three new seats would be added to the Scottish Cabinet table, with jobs in infrastructure, parliamentary business and culture now attracting the full 96,999 Cabinet secretary salary.

But Mr Salmond's announcement was notable for the fact that, apart from the new additions, the same names will remain in the same Cabinet jobs as before.

John Swinney, as expected, retains the post of finance secretary, with the key task of writing a spending review this autumn for the next three years, when he will have to find cash savings to meet expensive commitments.

Nicola Sturgeon, the Deputy First Minister, continues at health and will embark immediately on legislating for a minimum price on alcoholic drinks in Scotland, a proposal knocked back last year when the SNP was in minority.

And despite the furore over the freeing of the Lockerbie bomber, Kenny MacAskill remains in charge of law and order. As expected, Mike Russell will be reappointed as education minister, while Richard Lochhead stays on at rural affairs.

The only changes are the additions to the six key posts, with the most notable new post going to former housing minister Alex Neil, who becomes the new Cabinet secretary for infrastructure and capital investment. Mr Neil will be charged with overseeing SNP plans to lever 2.5bn into infrastructure projects which, SNP sources claim, will help maintain jobs.

There is also a recall for Fiona Hyslop, who was sacked as education secretary in 2009 but now returns to the Cabinet in a boosted portfolio as culture and external affairs secretary.

The Cabinet table will be completed by Bruce Crawford whose junior ministerial role as parliamentary business chief also gets upgraded.

All ministers are to stick with 2008 salaries, meaning Mr Salmond will earn 135,605 and Cabinet secretaries will get 96,999.

The Conservatives last night criticised the increased size and cost of the Cabinet, claiming it sent out the wrong signals to families at a time of austerity.

However, the SNP insisted the nine-strong Cabinet was still smaller than the teams assembled by both Jack McConnell and Henry McLeish in the former Labour administrations.

The increased size of the Cabinet will also be seen as a reflection of the fact that the new SNP government has both to manage day-to-day affairs and prepare for a referendum.

Mr Salmond said last night that the addition of an infrastructure minister illustrated how ministers would be focusing on job creation over the coming months. "Alex Neil joins the Cabinet for the first time, reflecting a renewed focus on jobs and investment, so that we sustain Scotland's recovery," he said.

On the decision to reappoint the same faces as served in the SNP's first term, Mr Salmond added: "The Scottish Government secured re-election on the basis of a successful team and I am delighted to appoint my colleagues to a strengthened Cabinet team, delivering on the priorities of the people of Scotland."

The addition of Mr Neil's role will ease the burden on finance secretary John Swinney. But Mr Swinney's post retains control over the purse strings and over local government, making it a key position at a time of unprecedented pressure on budgets.

SNP sources said Mrs Hyslop's job had been promoted to Cabinet level to add clout to efforts to promote the country abroad.

On the decision to hand Mr Crawford a Cabinet job, SNP insiders say the move reflects the fact that the ministerial team is conscious of the need to maintain control over the party's backbenchers.

The break-up of responsibilities will see Mr Salmond taking control over constitutional issues, suggesting that he will take personal control over the SNP government's preparations for the independence referendum, likely to take place in 2014 or 2015. Meanwhile, along with responsibilities for health, Mrs Sturgeon will be charged with overseeing the Commonwealth games in 2014, alongside Glasgow city council.

The increase to nine Cabinet secretaries marks a change of strategy from Mr Salmond, who trimmed the Cabinet down to six in 2007, aligning it with six new directorates at the Scottish Government.

Mr Salmond claimed then that the country required "a smaller, better-focused ministerial team, and more powerful and effective departments to ensure delivery of our key public policy priorities".

Officials said last night that any changes to the internal departments of the Scottish Government would only be announced after junior ministerial posts were unveiled later today.

Annabel Goldie, Scottish Conservative leader, last night criticised the increase in the size of the SNP Cabinet.

She said: "This is not a good example of belt tightening when many families face uncertainty over jobs, paying their bills and making ends meet. Alex Salmond should set a better example of sound housekeeping, not bloated government at the taxpayers' expense."However, the decision to create a new infrastructure minister was welcomed by Labour.

The party's Holyrood leader, Iain Gray, said: "Labour throughout the election campaign stressed that Scotland needed a plan for jobs and I welcome the announcement in the new Cabinet of how the finance minister's portfolio will focus on jobs."

He added: "We agree that we need to get Scotland working. This week we saw that three of the four unemployment blackspots in the UK are in Scotland. The most urgent and pressing matter for the government is how to exercise the powers it has to create jobs now."