Status 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. Shona Robison, appointed Deputy First Minister under Humza Yousaf in March 2023, also served as the
Cabinet Secretary for Finance. Alongside her responsibilities as Deputy First Minister, Robison was 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". Shona Robison, the former Deputy First Minister, became the
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government in Swinney's government.
Role with Irish
Tánaiste,
Micheál Martin, at the
British-Irish Council 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. 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 deputy first minister is supported by two
junior ministers of the Scottish Government – the
Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise and the
Minister for Employment and Investment. The deputy first minister has some governmental responsibility for inter–governmental relations relating to Scotland, both within the United Kingdom and wider Europe, as well as internationally. The deputy first minister can be asked by the first minister to attend inter–governmental conferences and forums, such as the
British-Irish Council, on their behalf. On some occasions, the deputy first minister may accompany the first minister to government forums and conferences. In December 2024, deputy first minister Kate Forbes attended the 42nd summit of the British-Irish Council, hosted by Scotland, alongside first minister
John Swinney. They are responsible for the cross-government approach towards inter-governmental relations. The deputy first minister is often expected to collaborate with ministers and members from all Scottish Government portfolios to "make the democratic case for the powers and responsibilities of the Scottish Parliament to be protected and enhanced from further encroachment by the UK Government".
Shona Robison, deputy first minister between 2023 and 2024, was given additional responsibility by first minister
Humza Yousaf in 2023 to ensure that devolution was no longer undermined by the UK Government as it had been since 2016.
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. 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. ==Government role==