Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health
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The Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health is a member of the Scottish Government. The Minister reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport, who has overall responsibility for the portfolio, and is a member of cabinet. As a Junior Minister the post holder is not a member of the Scottish Government Cabinet.
Responsibilities include: Sport – physical activity and securing the legacy of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
History
The Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health is the first Scottish Government ministerial post to include mental health in the title.[1] The post had been announced on 21 November 2014 as the Minister for Sport and Health Improvement[2] and similar ministerial posts had also existed in the very recent past under different titles.
The Sport portfolio was the responsibility of Deputy Minister for Communities and Sport from 2000 to 2001 in the Dewar Government (which was not a cabinet position). From 2000 to 2001 the Minister for the Environment, Sport and Culture was the Cabinet Minister with whose responsibilities included sport. From 2001 to 2003 these roles were combined in the Minister for Communities and Sport, which was renamed the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport after the addition of the tourism portfolio, following the 2003 election.
The Salmond Government, elected following the Scottish Parliament election in 2007, created the junior post of Minister for Communities and Sport held by Stewart Maxwell MSP, combining the Sport and Communities portfolios. The Minister assisted the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. In 2009, the Sport portfolio was given to the Minister for Public Health under the new title Minister for Public Health and Sport. This post was held by Shona Robison. After the 2011 Scottish election, sport was separated from the portfolio and given to a new Ministerial creation, the Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport (this remained Shona Robison).
Finally, this was promoted to a Cabinet Secretary position from 22 April to 21 November 2014 under the title of Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners' Rights (still Shona Robison), until the reshuffle of 21 November 2014 when Nicola Sturgeon announced her first Cabinet. Sport now goes back to its original position as a junior Ministerial post.
List of office holders
The current Minister for Sport and Health Improvement is Jamie Hepburn.[3]
Name | Portrait | Entered Office | Left Office | Party | First Minister | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jamie Hepburn | 21 November 2014 | Incumbent | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon | ||
See also
References
- ↑ "New Scottish health minister Jamie Hepburn takes on new role overseeing mental health". The Daily Record. 5 Dec 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ↑ "Nicola Sturgeon announces new Scottish cabinet". BBC News. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ "Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health". Scottish Government. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2014.