Scottish News RECAP: John Swinney to face his first First Minister's Questions
Catch up on what happened at John Swinney’s first First Minister’s Questions and the reaction to his new cabinet
Scottish Politics RECAP: John Swinney faces his first first minister's questions | Reactions to the new Scottish cabinet
Key Events
- John Swinney will face his first FMQs since becoming First Minister
- The new Scottish cabinet has been unveiled, with Kate Forbes becoming deputy first minister
- But the role of independence minister has been dropped
Hello and welcome to The Scotsman’s live blog!
I’m Rachel Amery and I’m The Scotsman’s political correspondent, and I am in the Scottish Parliament getting ready for another busy day in politics.
John Swinney faces his first First Minister’s Questions today - we will bring you all the latest as we have it.
Late last night John Swinney unveiled his full cabinet - before we get started today, let’s take a look at it.


First Minister John Swinney
Deputy first minister, Economy and Gàidhlig Secretary Kate Forbes
Finance Secretary Shona Robison
Health Secretary Neil Gray
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth
Net Zero and Energy Secretary Màiri McAllan
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop
Rural Affairs and Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon
Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary Angus Robertson
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville
Justice Secretary Angela Constance
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Parliamentary Business Minister Jamie Hepburn
Business Minister Richard Lochhead
Employment and Investment Minister Tom Arthur
Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee
Children, Young People and The Promise Minister Natalie Don
Higher and Further Education Minister / Veterans Minister Graeme Dey
Victims and Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown
Climate Action Minister Gillian Martin
Agriculture and Connectivity Minister Jim Fairlie
Public Health and Women’s Health Minister Jenni Minto
Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport Minister Maree Todd
Drugs and Alcohol Policy Minister Christina McKelvie
Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart
Housing Minister Paul McLennan
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Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC
Solicitor General Ruth Charteris KC
John Swinney’s new cabinet is not exactly new - almost everyone has kept the job they had under Humza Yousaf.
At the senior cabinet level, the only big change has been bringing Kate Forbes in.
This was expected, as Mr Swinney promised her a “significant role” in exchange for her not running against him to be SNP leader.
She has been made deputy first minister, and the economy brief has been moved across from Màiri McAllan to Ms Forbes.
But other than that it’s exactly the same.
It’s not quite as familiar when we go down to the junior minister positions, but still not a whole lot of change.
The two big changes to note - Ivan McKee is in, and the independence minister is out.
Mr McKee was a strong backer of Ms Forbes’s leadership campaign last year, and has been a supporter of hers on the backbenches ever since.
Perhaps bringing him in as public finance minister is another attempt to bring the party together again.
And Humza Yousaf created a brand new ministerial position and made Jamie Hepburn the independence minister, responsible for publishing various independence papers.
However this role has been scrapped completely, with Mr Hepburn becoming parliamentary business minister instead.
George Adam, Emma Roddick and Joe Fitzpatrick are all out - but that’s really all there is to say.
Our Education Correspondent Calum Ross has been taking a look at the in-tray for John Swinney.
From education to health and transport, and even arts and culture, there is plenty to be keeping the new First Minister and his cabinet busy.
So which government jobs have been scrapped altogether?
While many of the faces in John Swinney’s government are the same, they are not all with the same job titles.
The biggest cut certainly has to be axing the independence minister.
But here are the other ministerial positions which now no longer exist after yesterday’s reshuffle and the ending of the Bute House Agreement:
Independence minister
Local government, empowerment and planning minister
Community wealth and public finance minister (becomes public finance minister)
Small business, innovation, tourism and trade minister (becomes business minister)
Energy, just transition and fair work minister
Zero carbon buildings, active travel and tenants’ rights minister
Green skills, circular economy and biodiversity minister
Culture, Europe and international development minister
Equalities, migration and refugees minister
We’ve been getting a smattering of reaction through on how people are feeling about the new cabinet.
One that people are not necessarily best pleased with is the loss of a minister dedicated to biodiversity.
This was something Green co-leader Lorna Slater was in charge of until the end of the Bute House Agreement, and it was then subsumed into Màiri McAllan’s portfolio of economy, net zero and energy.
Now there is no dedicated biodiversity minister - however Gillian Martin has become the climate action minister.
Steve Micklewright, convener of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, and chief executive of Trees for Life, said: “Scotland has taken one step forwards and one step backwards for nature and climate, with the welcome minister for climate action and the deeply disappointing loss of any minister for biodiversity.
“We urge the First Minister to appoint a dedicated biodiversity minister to continue vital work for the large-scale nature recovery, and are calling for a meeting with him to discuss this.
“Thousands of people across Scotland have so far signed the rewilding nation charter calling on the Scottish Government to declare Scotland a rewilding nation - because they know the climate and nature emergencies have to be tackled together, and that rewilding creates a cascade of benefits including better health, new jobs, food security, and healthy rivers and seas.
“Slowing down progress to address Scotland’s catastrophic decline in biodiversity - including updating our quarter-of-a-century old national parks legislation, bolstering Scotland’s beaver population, and proposals on marine nature restoration - would be an own goal that the country can’t afford.”
The campaign group Scotland in Union says John Swinney must now commit to publishing no more independence papers, after axing the role of independence minister.


Over the last year, the independence minister’s main job has been to publish various independence papers, setting out a blueprint for how Scotland might look after leaving the UK.
However there has been criticism over how much all of this is costing taxpayers.
Scotland in Union now says Mr Swinney needs to go further and redeploy the civil servants who were previously working on these papers.
Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland In Union, said: “The Scottish Government has finally seen sense and abolished this wasteful and costly role - but John Swinney should go further.
“Now the independence minister jersey has been retired, the First Minister should commit to publishing no more papers on separation, and promise to redeploy the civil servant team to more important matters.
“For far too long this SNP government has blown taxpayers’ cash on its constitutional obsessions.
“It’s time for the people’s priorities, not the SNP’s.”
Angus B MacNeil MP has already written to First Minister John Swinney, looking for a guarantee that he won’t introduce highly-protected marine areas.


Highly-protected marine areas were dropped last year - had they been introduced, it would have banned fishing in around 10 per cent of Scottish waters.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation say they are still concerned highly-protected marine areas could still be introduced under a different guise, as the government is still committed to enhanced marine protection.
Mr MacNeil, who was suspended from the SNP last year and decided to continue on as an independent MP after his suspension was up, has written to the new First Minister saying the proposals cannot resurface.
The Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP said: “The voice of islanders was heard loud and clear in opposition to highly-protected marine areas last year and I have stressed this week to the new First Minister that any attempt to revive these proposals would be damaging once again to the Scottish Government.
“I’m looking for categorical confirmation that this will not happen.”
First minister’s questions gets underway at midday.
Before John Swinney takes to the frontbench, let’s take a look at what questions we are expecting today.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie are all due to ask opposition questions.
Beyond that, there will be questions on women in enterprise from Michelle Thomson MSP, residential rehabilitation beds from Jamie Greene MSP, the Horizon Post Office scandal from Pauline McNeill MSP, and suicide rates amongst young men from Alexander Stewart MSP.
Who is on the frontbench?
Of course, John Swinney as the new First Minister is heading up the SNP benches - but who else is joining him on the front row?
I can see the new Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary Angus Robertson, Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop, Justice Secretary Angela Constance, Finance Secretary Shona Robison, and Health Secretary Neil Gray.
Douglas Ross kicks off FMQs and he is talking about teacher cuts - an interesting one to go on as John Swinney is a former education secretary.


He is asking if he will stick to his own promise to increase teacher numbers by 3,000.
Mr Swinney has blamed the UK Government for inflation and the “persistence of austerity”.
He said: “I can ensure Mr Ross and parents of the government’s commitment to sustained investment.”
Douglas Ross is now asking John Swinney to give a “yes or no answer” on whether the government will increase teacher numbers by 3,000.
In response Mr Swinney said: “Absolutely clear with people we face very significant financial pressures in public finances so perspective on public finances deteriorated because of austerity and also because of the very significant inflation we’ve had to wrestle with.”
He also pointed out he has only just returned to the frontbenches - this has caused a lot of shouting in the chamber.
The Conservatives are trying their hardest to rile up John Swinney.


Mr Swinney promised when he was elected First Minister to stop polarising politics and reach out across the chamber (i.e. stop heckling everyone).
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross and chairman Craig Hoy doing most of the bating here.
In response Mr Swinney said to Mr Hoy: “Am I going to have to go through elementary arithmetic to help you understand here?”
Douglas Ross is now asking “what’s going to change?” referring to the fact the cabinet looks almost the exact same as it did under Humza Yousaf.
In response, John Swinney said: “What’s not going to change is the script we get from Douglas Ross every single time.”
He adds he has only been First Minister for 48 hours but the government will come to parliament very soon.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar also going on teacher numbers, referring to the fact John Swinney has previously been education secretary and finance secretary.


Mr Sarwar asks: “Will he step in, save teachers jobs, and protect young people’s education?”
Mr Swinney responded by saying: “The events of the last two weeks have been frankly traumatic for my party.”
But said he is now getting on with leading the government, and said he won’t step in and tell local government what to do.
John Swinney is now turning the argument on education in Glasgow back onto Anas Sarwar.
He said: “The issues facing Glasgow City Council, what has cost the council a formidable amount of money is the resolution of equal pay, presided over by the Labour Party.
“Women in our society for many, many years were persistently let down by the Labour Party in Glasgow.
“The council went to the courts to challenge low paid women in Glasgow, something the Labour Party should be utterly ashamed of.”
He says he is now working with the council on this.
Lots of laughs in the chamber now - Anas Sarwar says there will be no change because John Swinney has been in government for 17 years.


Mr Swinney said: “I have good news for Anas Sarwar - the fresh leadership has just arrived.”
Everyone having a good laugh at that response.
He added the SNP is “over the moon” he is First Minister as “they sent me here”.
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