The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care,(Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Slàinte is Cùram Sòisealta) commonly referred to as the Health Secretary (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire na Slàinte), is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for the Health and Social Care Directorates and NHS Scotland.
The current Cabinet Secretary is Angela Constance who has served since 8 February 2024. The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by the Minister for Public Health and Women's Health, Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing and the Minister for Drugs & Alcohol Policy and Sport.
Contents
History
The position was created in 1999 as the Minister for Health and Community Care, with the advent of devolution and the institution of the Scottish Parliament, taking over some of the roles and functions of the former Scottish Office that existed prior to 1999. After the 2007 election the Ministerial position was renamed to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.
After the 2011 election the full Ministerial title was Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy with the portfolio being expanded to include Cities Strategy which was part of the SNP manifesto to have a dedicated "Minister for Cities"; at the same time the responsibility for housing was removed and transferred to the new Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment. Responsibilities for the cities strategy and the delivery of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were later transferred to other members of the cabinet.
After the 2016 election, the name of the post was changed to simply Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, the post was retitled to Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.
First Minister Humza Yousaf retitled the role as Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, appointing Michael Matheson in March 2023 then Neil Gray in February 2024. Upon the formation of the Swinney government, the post was reverted to its previous Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care title.
Overview
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care include:
acute services
allied healthcare services
centre of excellence for rural and remote medicine and social care
community care
eHealth
health and social care integration
health improvement and protection
NHS estate
NHS performance
patient services and patient safety
person-centred care
primary care and GPs
quality and improvement
unscheduled care
workforce, training, planning, and pay
Public bodies and Directorates
The following public bodies and directorates report to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care:
NHS Scotland
Care Inspectorate
Healthcare Improvement Scotland
Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
Scottish Social Services Council
Sportscotland
Directorates
Chief Medical Officer Directorate
Chief Nursing Officer Directorate
Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland Directorate
Digital Health and Care Directorate
Health Workforce Directorate
Health and Social Care Finance, Digital and Governance Directorate
Healthcare Quality and Improvement Directorate
Mental Health Directorate
Population Health Directorate
Primary Care Directorate
Social Care and National Care Service Development