LATEST NEWS
16 May 2007
- Scottish Ministers and changes within the Scottish Executive
On May 16 Alex Salmond MSP was elected First Minister by the Scottish Parliament.
The First Minister nominated six Cabinet Secretaries (Cabinet Ministers) including the First Minister and 10 Ministers who report to a Cabinet Secretary.
Fiona Hyslop MSP - Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning
Adam Ingram MSP - Minister for Children and Early Years
Maureen Watt MSP - Minister for Schools and Skills
View the full list of Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers and details of their responsibilities.
The Permanent Secretary, Sir John Elvidge, took the opportunity presented by the formation of a new government to align the Scottish Executive's management systems and structures more closely with the new administration's objectives.
These changes also meet the requirements of an external review of the Scottish government, announced last year.
20 June 2007
- Smarter Scotland debate
At the Smarter Scotland debate on the 20th June 2007, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop MSP announced her priorities designed to create a smarter Scotland. The new administration have made early intervention a priority, and made a number of announcements which will have a positive impact on the early years including:
An early years and childcare strategy is to be developed. The strategy will be comprehensive in scope, cover a period of 10 years and be published in 2008.
From Autumn 2007, every three and four year old in Scotland will be entitled 475 hours of pre-school education a year. Further information on pre-school education is available from the Scottish Childcare Information Service website -
Scottish Childcare.
An additional 300 new teaching posts are to be made available in pre-school and early primary education with the intention of supporting children from the most deprived areas.
A full transcript of the debate is available from the Scottish Parliament's Official Report website section, or by following this link.