Sturgeon touts her new team but reshuff le is dismissed as sideshow

THE SNP’s reshuffle will do ‘nothing’ to address the growing issues with schools, hospitals and the economy, opponents have claimed.

MSPs unanimously backed Nicola Sturgeon’s overhaul, which has brought a record 11 Cabinet Secretaries and 14 junior ministers.

But critics said the shake-up had come too late, with further investment needed in education, health and social care.

At Holyrood yesterday the First Minister’s new team were formally appointed to their roles. Miss Sturgeon paid tribute to the departing ministers – including former Health Secretary Shona Robison, who she claimed had been ‘compassionate and effective’ as well as a ‘valued friend’. Holyrood unanimously endorsed the new Scottish Cabinet and junior ministerial posts – but only after Gillian Martin was removed from the list following the re-emergence in the media of comments she made in blog posts.

Miss Sturgeon said her new appointments would bring an ‘enormous amount of political, personal and professional experience into government’.

Humza Yousaf, 33, has become the first member of the Scottish Cabinet from an ethnic minority background after being promoted from Transport Minister to Justice Secretary. He is also the youngest person to have been appointed to the Scottish Cabinet.

Miss Sturgeon said he had been ‘outstanding’ in his previous role.

With the whole ministerial team now gender-balanced, with an equal number of men and women, Miss Sturgeon stressed: ‘Every one of today’s nominees is there on merit.’

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: ‘The action we really need is investment in our services, our schools, our hospitals, and most of all, in our older generations. This reshuffle does nothing to address those issues.’