Green ministers’ responsibilities overseen by Sturgeon lieutenants
NICOLA Sturgeon has given her new Green ministers a daunting set of in-tray responsibilities while putting them under the watch of Cabinet allies.
The First Minister said Patrick
Harvie is to be Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, while Lorna Slater will be Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity.
Mr Harvie will be one of three ministers working under Ms Sturgeon’s close friend Shona Robison, the Social Justice and Housing Secretary, while Ms Slater will be one of four ministers under Finance and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes.
The Scottish Green co-leaders, the first Green ministers anywhere in the UK, will both also work with the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Secretary Michael Matheson.
The appointments are subject to a vote in Holyrood when MSPS return from the summer recess today and to formal acceptance by the Queen.
Mr Harvie’s responsibilities include driving policy changes shifting Scotland away from high-polluting transport and heating towards greener alternatives, an essential part of the push towards a net-zero economy by 2045.
He will also lead on delivering a “new deal for tenants”, and ensure building standards are fit for purpose, potentially drawing him into the vexed row over replacing building cladding in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.
The Government said Ms Slater would drive a “Green industrial strategy”, helping people access training and opportunities as part of a net-zero Scotland.
Her role will also include supporting biodiversity, protecting national parks and natural heritage, working with Naturescot and Zero Waste Scotland, and supporting the development of a circular economy that minimises the impact on the natural environment.
Announcing the portfolios after meeting the two Greens at Bute House, Ms Sturgeon said: “This historic co-operation agreement is founded in a shared drive to work together in the Scottish Government to build a greener, fairer, independent Scotland.
“We have massive challenges to overcome – a global pandemic and its lasting effects, the climate emergency, and the assault by the UK Government on the powers of our parliament.
“Patrick and Lorna’s roles in government are rightly at the heart of facing up to them and the expertise and passion they bring with them will contribute greatly to defining
Scotland’s path forward in doing so.
“Although our parties do not agree on everything we have been able to compromise, find common ground, and agree on areas where we can work together to build a better country.”
Mr Harvie said: “We are at a crucial tipping point in terms of our relationship with the planet. I am thrilled at the opportunity to drive forward policies that enhance peoples’ lives while supporting the urgent goal of tackling the climate emergency as we emerge from the pandemic.”
Ms Slater said: “Any transition to net zero must be just, and my focus will be on delivering policies that support our workforce and wider economy through that change.”
The five-year power-sharing plan also has an independent Scotland as a goal.
The Scottish Tories, now the only party at Holyrood never to have held power in Edinburgh, accused Ms Sturgeon of gambling with jobs in an act of “pure economic vandalism”.
Tory shadow recovery minister Murdo Fraser said: “In the middle of the biggest economic crisis in our lifetime, it’s deeply worrying that Nicola Sturgeon is turning to anti-jobs, anti-business extremists.
“It is pure economic vandalism to hand power to Green MSPS who have admitted they want to limit growth and hold back Scotland’s economy.”
Scottish Libdem leader Alex Colehamilton said: “Scotland desperately needs new hope but with the Greens now signed up to support the SNP at every turn, Scotland is stuck with the status quo.
“The planet doesn’t have time for the new nationalist coalition to drag us back to the all-consuming divisive constitutional arguments of the past.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “More energy has been spent stitching up a coalition for the next five years than setting out any kind of vision for it.
“The Greens and the SNP have proven over and over again they are happy to abandon all other priorities for their constitutional obsession.”
We are at a crucial tipping point in terms of our relationship with the planet