# Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care (Scotland)

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care,(Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire a’ Chaibineit airson Slàinte is Cùram Sòisealta) commonly referred to as the Health Secretary (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire na Slàinte), is a cabinet position in the Scottish Government. The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for the Health and Social Care Directorates and NHS Scotland.
The current Cabinet Secretary is Neil Gray who has served since 8 February 2024.
The Cabinet Secretary is assisted by:
* Minister for Public Health and Women's Health – Jenni Minto
* Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport – Maree Todd
* Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy – Christina McKelvie.

## History

The position was created in 1999 as the Minister for Health and Community Care, with the advent of devolution and the institution of the Scottish Parliament, taking over some of the roles and functions of the former Scottish Office that existed prior to 1999. After the 2007 election the Ministerial position was renamed to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing.
After the 2011 election the full Ministerial title was Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy with the portfolio being expanded to include Cities Strategy which was part of the SNP manifesto to have a dedicated "Minister for Cities"; at the same time the responsibility for housing was removed and transferred to the new Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment. Responsibilities for the cities strategy and the delivery of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were later transferred to other members of the cabinet.
After the 2016 election, the name of the post was changed to simply Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport. In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, the post was retitled to Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.
First Minister Humza Yousaf retitled the role as Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, appointing Michael Matheson in March 2023 then Neil Gray in February 2024. Upon the formation of the Swinney government, the post was reverted to its previous Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care title.

## Overview
### Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care include:
* acute services
* allied healthcare services
* centre of excellence for rural and remote medicine and social care
* community care
* eHealth
* health and social care integration
* health improvement and protection
* NHS estate
* NHS performance
* patient services and patient safety
* person-centred care
* primary care and GPs
* quality and improvement
* unscheduled care
* workforce, training, planning, and pay

### Public bodies and Directorates

The following public bodies and directorates report to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care:
* NHS Scotland
* Care Inspectorate
* Healthcare Improvement Scotland
* Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland
* Scottish Social Services Council
* Sportscotland
Directorates
* Chief Medical Officer Directorate
* Chief Nursing Officer Directorate
* Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland Directorate
* Digital Health and Care Directorate
* Health Workforce Directorate
* Health and Social Care Finance, Digital and Governance Directorate
* Healthcare Quality and Improvement Directorate
* Mental Health Directorate
* Population Health Directorate
* Primary Care Directorate
* Social Care and National Care Service Development

## List of office holders

| Name | Name | Entered Office | Left Office | Party | First Minister |
| Minister for Health and Community Care |||||||
| | Susan Deacon$^{:2–4}$ | 19 May 1999 | 28 November 2001 | Labour Party | Donald Dewar |
| | Malcolm Chisholm$^{:5–7}$$^{:2–4}$ | 28 November 2001 | 6 October 2004 | Labour Party | Henry McLeish Jack McConnell |
| | Andy Kerr$^{:3–8}$ | 6 October 2004 | 17 May 2007 | Labour Party | Jack McConnell |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing |||||||
| | Nicola Sturgeon | 17 May 2007 | 19 May 2011 | Scottish National Party | Alex Salmond |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy |||||||
| | Nicola Sturgeon | 19 May 2011 | 5 September 2012 | Scottish National Party | Alex Salmond |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing |||||||
| | Alex Neil | 5 September 2012 | 21 November 2014 | Scottish National Party | Alex Salmond |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport |||||||
| | Shona Robison | 21 November 2014 | 18 May 2016 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport |||||||
| | Shona Robison | 18 May 2016 | 26 June 2018 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon |
| | Jeane Freeman | 26 June 2018 | 19 May 2021 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care |||||||
| | Humza Yousaf | 20 May 2021 | 28 March 2023 | Scottish National Party | Nicola Sturgeon |
| Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care |||||||
| | Michael Matheson | 29 March 2023 | 8 February 2024 | Scottish National Party | Humza Yousaf |
| | Neil Gray | 8 February 2024 | 8 May 2024 | Scottish National Party | Humza Yousaf |
| Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care |||||||
| | Neil Gray | 8 May 2024 | Incumbent | Scottish National Party | John Swinney |