City MSPs land key roles with ministers

TWO of Edinburgh's newly elected MSPs have been handed key jobs as ministerial aides.

Edinburgh Southern SNP MSP Jim Eadie has been appointed as parliamentary liaison officer (PLO) to Health Secretary and Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, while his Edinburgh Central colleague, Marco Biagi, has landed the same role with Education Secretary Mike Russell.

The post of PLO is roughly equivalent to that of parliamentary private secretary (PPS) at Westminster, often seen as the first rung on the ministerial ladder.

The two city MSPs will now play a crucial role liaising between two of the Scottish Government's most important departments and Holyrood backbenchers and others.

Mr Eadie, who worked for the Royal College of Nursing and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, then ran his own healthcare consulting business before becoming an MSP, said he was delighted at his appointment.

He said: "I will use the role as a bridge between the government's policy agenda of creating a healthier nation and the views of health organisations.

"The role will allow me to develop an insight into various aspects of healthcare, which will, hopefully, be of benefit to my constituents and the wider community."

PLOs are unpaid and do not count as members of the government.

Mr Biagi said being made a PLO was a privilege and an honour.

He said: "I think the role is one that develops over time and every PLO takes a slightly different approach.

"It will be a great way of connecting the minister with parliamentary backbenches to make sure the right people are talking to each other.

"It's very easy for any government to become separated and I'm glad we have this system in place to prevent that."

Mr Biagi covered education in his previous job as a parliamentary researcher for the SNP. He is co-convener of the cross-party group on children and young people.