Minister for Community Safety

The Minister for Community Safety is a Junior ministerial post in the Scottish Government. As a result, the minister does not attend the Scottish Cabinet.[1] The post was created in May 1999 during the 1st Scottish Parliament as the Deputy Minister for Justice. Deputy ministers were renamed ministers after the election of the Scottish National Party in 2007. The minister reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, who has overall responsibility for the portfolio, and is a member of cabinet.[2]

The Minister for Community Safety has specific responsibility for:[2]

• Community safety
• Access to justice
• Anti-sectarianism
• Anti-social behaviour
• Civil law
• fire and rescue services
• Liquor licensing
• Legal profession

History

From 1999 to 2007 responsibility for Community Safety rested with the Minister for Justice and the Deputy Minister for Justice. The Salmond government, elected following the 2007 Scottish Parliament election created the junior post of the Minister for Community Safety who assists the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, in the Scottish Justice Department. After the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the post was renamed Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs and was given additional responsibilities for tackling sectarianism. It was renamed again to simply Minister for Community Safety in June 2018.[2]

List of office holders

The current Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs is Ash Denham MSP.

Deputy Minister for Justice
Name		Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Party	First Minister
	Angus MacKay		19 May 1999	2 November 2000	Labour	Donald Dewar
	Iain Gray		2 November 2000	28 November 2001	Labour	Henry McLeish
	Richard Simpson		28 November 2001	26 November 2002	Labour	Jack McConnell
	Hugh Henry		28 November 2002	14 November 2006	Labour
	Johann Lamont		16 November 2006	17 May 2007	Labour
Minister for Community Safety
	Fergus Ewing		17 May 2007	20 May 2011	Scottish National Party	Alex Salmond
Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs
	Roseanna Cunningham		20 May 2011	21 November 2014	Scottish National Party	Alex Salmond
	Paul Wheelhouse		21 November 2014	18 May 2016	Scottish National Party	Nicola Sturgeon
	Annabelle Ewing		18 May 2016	26 June 2018	Scottish National Party	Nicola Sturgeon
Minister for Community Safety
	Ash Denham		27 June 2018	Incumbent	Scottish National Party	Nicola Sturgeon

See also

• Scottish Parliament
• Question Time
• Scottish Government

References

1. Scotland Act (1998), Only those appointed under Section 47 of the Scotland Act "attend" Cabinet. Junior ministers are appointed under Section 49 and may be "present".
2. "Minister for Community Safety". Scottish Government. 2018-06-27. Retrieved 2018-06-27.

External links

• The Scottish Cabinet on Scottish Government website
• Minister for Community Safety on Scottish Government website