Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights

Scotland
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The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities, and Pensioners' Rights is a position in the Scottish Government Cabinet. The Cabinet Secretary has overall responsibility for elections, local government, community planning, housing, welfare, the third sector, equality and human rights. The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by two junior Ministers: the Minister for Local Government and Community Empowerment and the Minister for Housing and Welfare.

The current Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities, and Pensioners' Rights is Alex Neil, who was appointed in November 2014.

Responsibilities

Social justice, democratic renewal, elections, community empowerment, community planning, planning, building standards, business improvement districts, town centres, housing, welfare, measures against poverty and homelessness, the third sector and the social economy, equality, social and human rights, religious and faith organisations, cross-government co-ordination on pensioners’ rights and welfare.

History

From 2007 to 2009 the Minister for Communities and Sport was a junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. In 2009, sport was linked with public health and the role became the Minister for Housing and Communities.

Following the 2011 election, the role was reorganised as Minister for Housing and Welfare^[1] but as a junior ministerial position, the Minister did not attend the Scottish Cabinet.^[2]

The cabinet post was created in November 2014 as a result of Nicola Sturgeon's reshuffle. The reshuffle meant that another previous Cabinet post, that of the short-lived (since April 2014) Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners' Rights post, was abolished.

References

External links

• Scottish Government - Cabinet and Ministers
• Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners' Rights