Education minister ‘must do better’

THE relegation of disastrous Education Secretary Angela Constance tops a hefty ‘in tray’ for the returning First Minister.

Nicola Sturgeon has promised to make improving school standards her number one priority, but also faces challenges on Named Persons, an under-performing health service, the oil industry crisis and a £15billion deficit.

There was speculation yesterday that John Swinney could be given a much wider remit, taking in either education or health.

The long-serving Finance Secretary is comfortably her most capable frontbencher, and has already talked about how the role will change with the sweeping new tax and welfare powers coming to Holyrood.

One option is the creation of a Scottish Chancellor, who would control the purse strings of all the other departments.

A series of SNP Education Secretaries have left a legacy of failure on missed class-size targets, falling literacy and numeracy standards, and the stubbornly large attainment gap between rich and poor.

Last year, Miss Constance responded to shocking figures showing 45 per cent of 13 and 14-year-olds were falling short of meeting acceptable reading and writing standards – up 9 per cent since 2012 – by saying results were ‘not as good as they should be’.

Holyrood insiders say she committed the cardinal crime, in the First Minister’s eyes, of diagnosing a problem without offering up a solution.

Yesterday, a source close to the First Minister insisted there had been no discussions about the make-up of the new cabinet. However, she did not rule out an overarching role for Mr Swinney.

Geoff Aberdein, Alex Salmond’s former chief of staff, predicted a ‘quite wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle’ with John Swinney taking over health. That would be a blow to Shona Robison – the First Minister’s closest friend in politics – unless she was given another top job.

Jeane Freeman, one of the new SNP intake and a former adviser to Jack McConnell, would relish a health job.

The First Minister again made clear yesterday that education would be ‘the defining and driving priority of my tenure as First Minister’.