Swinney appoints Public Sector Reform Secretary in ‘fiscal sustainability’ push

First Minister John Swinney has put public sector reform at the heart of his Cabinet as he pushes for “fiscal sustainability”.

Mr Swinney announced the creation of a new Public Service Reform Secretary role, to be held by Ivan McKee, on Wednesday.

Mr McKee will be tasked with overhauling the public sector – including reducing the workforce – in a bid to help the Government deal with a forecast blackhole of almost £5 billion by the end of the decade.

Speaking to journalists outside Bute House following the announcement of his top team, Mr Swinney rejected suggestions the push for reform will mean cuts.

“What people should be prepared for is reform,” he said.

“That’s exactly what I’ve put at the heart of Government – public sector reform – to make sure that we deliver on the expectations of the public, but we do so in a way that is fiscally sustainable, and that is what an SNP Government has done for 19 years.

“What my team will do with the focused leadership of Jenny Gilruth as Deputy First Minister, Ivan McKee as the Cabinet Secretary for Public Sector Reform, working right across Government to make sure that we are reforming the public sector, we will be taking the steps, and it should be seen as a very clear signal from the announcements that I have made today of a Government that’s focusing on ensuring fiscal sustainability and meeting the needs of the public.”

The First Minister appointed Ms Gilruth – a former school teacher and education secretary – to be his second-in-command in his first move on Wednesday after being sworn in at the Court of Session.

In a statement, Ms Gilruth said it is the “greatest honour of my life” to serve in the job.

She said: “We are coming into Government refreshed by the faith people have placed in us and determined to deliver on the job they have asked us to do – supporting people through the cost-of-living crisis, giving people easier access to the NHS, and delivering a fresh start with independence.

“That is our task and it is one I will dedicate myself to delivering as Deputy First Minister, in a Scottish Government working for Scotland.”

Former SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn is the only new face in Government, taking over the economy, transport and tourism briefs.

Neil Gray and Angela Constance have swapped their respective portfolios from the last parliament, with the former taking on the justice brief and the latter moving to health.

Mairi McAllan, who was tipped as a potential deputy first minister, will take over the education portfolio, as well as the culture and Gaelic briefs.

Gillian Martin will continue in her role as Climate Action Secretary, with additional responsibility for rural affairs.

The First Minister – who takes on the responsibility for the constitution and Scottish independence – said in a statement his Government will be “leaner, more agile”, later stating he wants his top team to be “very focused”.

He told journalists: “I am delighted to have appointed the Cabinet today who will be working very hard to deliver on the Government’s priorities and to make sure that we are addressing the needs and the concerns of the people of Scotland.

“We were elected with a resounding mandate to ensure that we take effective action to tackle the cost-of-living challenges that are faced by members of the public, to ensure that we continue the improvements in our public services, especially the National Health Service, to grow and to build and to put dynamism into the Scottish economy, and to make sure that Scotland’s future is in Scotland’s hands.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the First Minister’s decision to “sack” Mr Gray from the health brief is a “catastrophic admission that Scotland’s NHS is being failed by the SNP”.

She added: “But his decision to replace him with Angela Constance – who utterly failed as justice secretary and left Scotland’s streets less safe – shows that this is not a serious attempt to fix the mess the SNP has made.

“The same failed ministers are simply being shuffled around the table, with one joker being added to the deck.

“John Swinney is kidding no-one if he thinks this amounts to a fresh start for Scotland.

“There is no reason to believe that the same people who created this crisis are capable of solving it.

“For the sake of patients, victims and communities across Scotland, these ministers must finally get a grip.

“That means no more rhetoric, no more broken promises, and no more divisive politics.”

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton accused the First Minister of “recycling the same failed SNP faces”, adding: “Jenny Gilruth was a flop as transport minister and, as education secretary, did nothing to tackle the epidemic of classroom violence, yet she’s been rewarded with the most important portfolio and the role of Swinney’s deputy.

“Neil Gray and Angela Constance presided over crisis, chaos and scandal as health and justice secretary respectively, yet we’re to believe that things will improve by them swapping jobs.

“The SNP’s dire record on transport probably explains why Swinney has handed that poisoned chalice to Stephen Flynn, the man eyeing up his job.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie struck a more conciliatory tone as he wished the new cabinet well, adding his party’s group would hunt for agreement to get things done, because the public “have waited long enough for change”.

It comes after the First Minister was sworn into the role for a second time on Wednesday morning.

He left the Court of Session just after 10am, flanked by his wife Elizabeth and teenage son Matthew.

Cabinet appointments will face a confirmatory vote in Holyrood on Thursday.