Major General James G. Blunt

The Deputy First Minister of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Leas-Phrìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba; Scots: Heid Meinister Depute o Scotland) is the second highest ranking minister of the Government of Scotland, behind the First Minister of Scotland. The post-holder is appointed by the First Minister, and deputises for the First Minister during a period of absence or whilst they are out-with Scotland undertaking overseas visits. During any period of the First Ministers absence, the DFM will be expected to answer to the Scottish Parliament on behalf of the First Minister at First Minister's Questions.

Shona Robison of the Scottish National Party (SNP) is the current DFM, she was appointed by First Minister Humza Yousaf on the 28 March 2023. As well as serving as the DFM, Robison also holds the position of Cabinet Secretary for Finance within the Scottish cabinet.

Overview

The post is not recognised in statute (in comparison with the post of First Minister which is established by the Scotland Act 1998), and its holder is simply an ordinary member of the Scottish Government. The post has nonetheless existed since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government in 1999. When one party governs alone, the Deputy First Minister is a senior member of the governing party, sometimes the party's deputy leader as with Nicola Sturgeon when she was SNP depute leader though at present this is not the case with the current SNP depute leader Keith Brown. When the government is formed by a coalition, the Deputy First Minister is usually the leader of the minority partner.

The Deputy First Minister, within the Scottish Government, has direct responsibility and control over the strategy of the Scottish Government, delivery and outcomes of ministerial portfolios, resilience, as well as cross-government co-ordination of public service reform.^[1] Alongside the responsibilities of the post-holders functions as Deputy First Minister, the post holder is also required to have direct responsibility for a cabinet secretary post. The current Deputy First Minister, Shona Robinson, is also Cabinet Secretary for Finance.

Nomination and election

The Additional Member System used to elect Members of the Scottish Parliament makes it difficult for a single party to have an absolute majority. Between 1999 and 2007, the Scottish Executive was formed by a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition, with the leader of Scottish Labour serving as First Minister and the leader of the Scottish Lib Dems serving as Deputy First Minister.

Although the Scottish National Party (SNP) formed a single party minority administration following the 2007 election, the post was not abolished despite there being no need to recognise the status of a second party leader, instead being given to the SNP's depute leader, Nicola Sturgeon.^[2] When Sturgeon became First Minister, the party's depute leader, Stewart Hosie, was serving in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and did not have a seat in the Scottish Parliament. The Deputy First Minister's post thus went to John Swinney.

Responsibilities in government

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The post holder of the Deputy First Minister of Scotland is solely responsible for the following areas within the Scottish Government (as of April 2024):^[1]

• Bute House Agreement
• government strategy
• inter-governmental relations
• responsibility for cross-government delivery and outcomes
• public service reform, including digital
• National Performance Framework
• historical abuse inquiry
• redress
• Covid–19 inquiries
• Sheku Bayoh public inquiry
• efficient government
• civil service operations and transformation, including:
• the Scottish Government’s estate strategy
• getting to net zero and hybrid working
• corporate service transformation, including budgets, workforce strategy, technology and risk
• cross government co-ordination of infrastructure (policy, investment, and commission)
• Scottish Futures Trust

Shona Robison, appointed Deputy First Minister under Humza Yousaf in March 2023, also serves as the Cabinet Secretary for Finance. Alongside her responsibilities as Deputy First Minister, Robison is also responsible for the delivery of the Scottish budget, as well as "budgetary monitoring and reporting (including Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)), fiscal policy and taxation (including income tax), exchequer and the public finances, public sector pay, the Scottish Fiscal Commission, fiscal framework review, local government finance and public sector productivity".^[1]

List of office holders

Acting First Ministers

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Other offices held whilst in post
	Jim Wallace		8 November 2001	27 November 2001	Liberal Democrats	Minister for Justice (1999–2003)

Deputy First Ministers

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Other offices held whilst in post	First Minister
	Jim Wallace		19 May 1999	23 June 2005	Liberal Democrats	Minister for Justice (1999–2003) Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (2003–2005)		Donald Dewar
								Henry McLeish
								Jack McConnell
	Nicol Stephen		27 June 2005	17 May 2007	Liberal Democrats	Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
	Nicola Sturgeon		17 May 2007	20 November 2014	Scottish National Party	Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing (2007–2012) Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment (2012–2014)		Alex Salmond
	John Swinney		21 November 2014	28 March 2023	Scottish National Party	Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy (2014–2016) Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (2016–2021) Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery (2021–2023)		Nicola Sturgeon
	Shona Robison		29 March 2023	Incumbent	Scottish National Party	Cabinet Secretary for Finance (2023–Present)		Humza Yousaf

See also

• Under-Secretary of State for Scotland

References