Hansard

The ministerial changes that I am making today arise from the resignation on Friday of Jamie Hepburn as Minister for Parliamentary Business. Jamie Hepburn did not behave as he believed he should have done in the Parliament last Wednesday, so he tendered his resignation to me. A few moments ago, he offered an apology to the Parliament, which, along with his decision to resign, demonstrates the strength of character that he brings to his parliamentary service. I thank him for his service as a member of the Government in a number of different portfolios, and especially for the way in which he has worked with other parties in taking forward the parliamentary business programme in a collaborative and consultative way throughout his time as Minister for Parliamentary Business.

I am pleased that Graeme Dey, who is widely respected across the Parliament, will now take up the role of Minister for Parliamentary Business. His formidable experience in working with others to create common ground will be invaluable to us all as we complete the business of this parliamentary session. I have also asked him to continue his excellent work as Minister for Veterans.

I am pleased to welcome Ben Macpherson to the role of Minister for Higher and Further Education, subject to the Parliament’s approval this afternoon, to build on Graeme Dey’s work. Ben Macpherson was a valued minister between 2018 and 2023, when he served under my predecessors in a variety of positions, including as Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development, Minister for Public Finance and Migration, and Minister for Social Security and Local Government. To each role, he brought a constructive approach, building coalitions to deliver the Government’s ambitious and shared agenda.

As a back bencher, Ben Macpherson has brought a collaborative approach to the Parliament. Most recently, he served as a member of the Criminal Justice Committee—indeed, he took my place on that committee—and as convener of the SPCB Supported Bodies Landscape Review Committee, which included leading the committee debate on the review last week.

The role of Minister for Higher and Further Education is crucial in ensuring that our education institutions can play a full part in delivering an agenda of dynamic economic growth that will benefit all the people of Scotland, and in ensuring that individuals in Scotland—especially our young people—have access to higher and further education opportunities that will meet their needs and provide the foundations for their later life. I know that Ben Macpherson will give energetic commitment to advancing that important work and to taking forward the Government’s skills agenda, through which we must ensure that we have all the skills and talent in our economy to support the developments that the Government wishes to see in place.

With pleasure, I move,

That the Parliament agrees that Ben Macpherson be appointed as a junior Scottish Minister.