Scottish first minister John Swinney has created a new cabinet-level ministerial role to put public sector reform “at the heart of government” following the SNP’s victory at the Scottish Parliament elections earlier this month.
Ivan McKee, who was previously minister for public finance, has been named to the new position of cabinet secretary for public sector reform.
Other changes to Swinney’s cabinet include the promotion of Jenny Gilruth, the former cabinet secretary for education, to deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for finance secretary, and the appointment of former SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn as cabinet secretary for economy, tourism and transport.
Asked about the changes, and if people should be prepared for cuts or tax rises, Swinney told journalists: “What people should be prepared for is reform.
“That’s exactly what I’ve put at the heart of the government – public sector reform – to make sure that we deliver on the expectations of the public, but we do so in a way that is fiscally sustainable, and that is what an SNP government has done for 19 years.”
Swinney said his team, with the “focused leadership” of Gilruth as deputy first minister and McKee as the cabinet secretary for public sector reform, will be “working right across government to make sure that we are reforming the public sector”.
And he said it “should be seen as a very clear signal from the announcements that I have made today of a government that’s focusing on ensuring fiscal sustainability and meeting the needs of the public”.
Asked if reform was a euphemism for cuts, Swinney added: “It’s about changing the way in which we deliver public services, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
The SNP won 58 of 129 seats at the elections on 7 May, making them the biggest party in the Scottish Parliament but leaving them seven seats short of a majority.
Swinney has said he “recognises the need to work collaboratively,” and that it is “not beyond the bounds of possible” that parties can work together, but added that he has no plans to talk to Reform UK.
The full new cabinet is:
- John Swinney – first minister
- Jenny Gilruth – deputy first minister, and finance and local government
- Ivan McKee – public service reform
- Angela Constance – health and care
- Màiri McAllan – education, culture and Gaelic
- Neil Gray – justice
- Shirley-Anne Somerville – social justice and housing
- Gillian Martin – climate action and rural affairs
- Stephen Flynn – economy, transport and tourism
Ministerial appointments are set to be approved by parliament today.