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JOHN Swinney has taken control of the constitution brief after appointing his new Cabinet, with former SNP Westminster Stephen Flynn being given a top job.
The slimmed down team – nine ministers compared to 12 before the election – doesn’t contain too many new faces, but the policy areas they are set to take control of have been shifted around.
It is also now made up of a majority of women, with five women and four men.
The ministerial team are Cabinet-designates until they’re officially appointed by Parliament on Thursday and approved by King Charles.
But let’s take a run through who’s doing what, and what has changed.
Independence
With former constitution secretary Angus Robertson losing his seat in Edinburgh Central , the First Minister has taken on responsibilities for independence and the constitution himself.
During the 2026 election campaign, Swinney said that he would hold a vote on requesting a Section 30 order from the UK Government on the first full sitting day in Holyrood.
It will be interesting to see how this will work with the First Minister taking on the main role on what should be a defining issue in this term. It certainly signals that he is keen to take responsibility for the issue going forward, rather than panning it off to one of his ministers.
A big promotion
Jenny Gilruth, formerly Education Secretary, was given the Deputy First Minister job following Kate Forbes’s exit from Government. Gilruth becomes the first LGBT+ politician to hold the second highest position in the Scottish Government, and will also take on responsibilities for Finance and Local Government.
Before the election, Shona Robison was in charge of both briefs, but she is no longer an MSP. Gilruth will have some big issues to tackle over the coming years, setting the Scottish Budget, finding funds for the SNP's election pledges, dealing with the £1 billion black hole in the public finances, and negotiating with cash-strapped local authorities. Her experience averting teaching strikes last year will likely come in handy.
New faces
There are two MSPs who have been given more responsibilities in the Cabinet-in-waiting.
Flynn has been given three key areas to cover: Economy, Tourism and Transport. Economy was led by Kate Forbes before she stood down, Transport was led by Fiona Hyslop who also stood down, and Tourism is a new brief assigned to the Cabinet.
A lot of areas to cover for first-time MSP Flynn, who will now have responsibilities relating to boosting the economy, dealing with ferry problems and working to boost Scotland’s tourism industry.
Train drivers union Aslef welcomed Flynn's appointment and said they hope he ensures their "pay and conditions are protected and enhanced", adding that train travel must be made affordable "with radical new measures introduced to reduce fares".
"This could and should be paid for by ending the train procurement bonanza enjoyed by rolling stock companies since the start of privatisation, using the savings from paying for new trains with green bonds as part of a public financing model," Aslef Scottish organiser Kevin Lindsay said.
"Making Scotland's rail services the best they can be is vital if Scotland is to deliver on its environmental, economic and social policy aspirations. We look forward to working with Mr Flynn to help him achieve the ambition we all have for Scotland's railways."
Ivan McKee served as a public finance minister last term, in a junior ministerial role. He has now been given a promotion, and will be the first Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform.
The Anniesland MSP is set to deal with a major slimming down of the civil service, amongst many other crucial areas relating to Scotland’s struggling public services.
The Scottish Government said the role will see him “lead cross-government work to ensure public services are responsive to the needs of the people of Scotland”.
Not-so-new faces but new briefs
Gillian Martin and Shirley-Anne Somerville returned to Cabinet and kept part of their old briefs. Martin retained the Climate Action Secretary title, with the addition of Rural Affairs, after Mairi Gougeon stood down at the election.
Net Zero and Energy have been dropped from Cabinet Secretary briefs altogether, but are likely to fall under Martin’s policy areas. Somerville retains the role of Social Justice Secretary but takes on additional responsibilities over Housing, a title held solely by Mairi McAllan before the election.
McAllan is set to move into another triple-brief: Education, Culture and Gaelic. Education formerly sat under Gilruth, Culture under Robertson, and Gaelic under Forbes.
While she was tipped for the Deputy First Minister job, McAllan has been given three key areas of responsibility, and it probably hasn’t escaped readers that former education secretaries Swinney and Gilruth are now leading the Scottish Government.
Elsewhere, Angela Constance and Neil Gray have swapped jobs. Constance takes on the Health and Care brief, while Gray moves to Justice.
What’s missing?
There are a number of briefs that have been removed from the Cabinet Secretary level, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be assigned to junior ministers, which are still to be announced.
Skills, Islands, Energy, Net Zero, Home Affairs and External Affairs are no longer part of the Cabinet Secretary's main responsibilities.
Swinney said that his new team would “focus on the priorities of the people” including the cost-of-living crisis, easier access to the NHS and “delivering a fresh start with independence”.
“I am immensely proud to appoint this Cabinet with the experience, energy and drive to deliver on the mandate given to us by the people of Scotland,” Swinney said announcing the appointments.
“This will be a Scottish Government working for Scotland.
“As a leaner, more agile government, our full focus will be on delivering on the things that matter most to the people of Scotland, including supporting people with the cost of living crisis, ensuring easier access to the NHS and delivering a fresh start with independence.
“This new team will hit the ground running, delivering major progress on our priorities within the first 100 days, before continuing to deliver on the emphatic mandate given to us by the people of Scotland.
“This team of Cabinet Secretaries will bring experience, drive and a determination to deliver for Scotland – and this government will work harder than ever to repay the trust that people have placed in us.”
