Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled her cabinet, with new appointments to ministerial roles;

• Shirley-Anne Somerville becomes education secretary, with Humza Yousaf moving from justice to health
• Keith Brown takes the justice secretary job
• Finance Secretary Kate Forbes take on an expanded role, which now includes the economy brief

Image source, PA Media

• Michael Matheson keeps his transport post which is expanded to include net zero, energy and transport
• Shona Robison - health secretary between 2014 and 2018 - returns to cabinet as social justice, housing and local government secretary
• Former SNP MP Angus Robertson is now responsible for constitution, external affairs and culture matters
• Mairi Gougeon takes on the role of rural affairs and islands secretary
• Yesterday, Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney was given a new job leading the country's pandemic recovery

'Big changes' to the cabinetpublished at 12:46 British Summer Time 19 May 2021

12:46 BST 19 May 2021

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Nicola Sturgeon has made big changes to her cabinet - even if many of the "new" faces are rather familiar ones.

To start with, she has slimmed down the full cabinet from 12 to 10, with roles such as environment and transport being combined.

Kate Forbes is the only minister who keeps their old job, with a beefed-up finance portfolio.

Michael Matheson keeps his transport job, but "net zero" and the climate emergency will be a big focus of his new role.

Shirley-Anne Somerville and Humza Yousaf have arguably the biggest jobs in education and health, and this is part of a pattern of posts going to more experienced hands rather than fresh faces.

This team actually has more in common with the cabinet appointed in 2016 than with the most recent version, from 2018 - with Keith Brown and Shona Robison reclaiming their places at the top table.

And another of the "new" ministers is Angus Robertson, a former deputy leader of the SNP who has 16 years of experience as an MP.

Mairi Gougeon is the only junior minister to win promotion into the full cabinet - and there are sure to be further changes to the junior team when it is announced later in the day.

After revealing her new front bench, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland needed "a serious government for the serious times we face as a nation".

She said she was leading a government which would "drive Scotland forward, as we look to build a just, fair and sustainable recovery from the Covid pandemic".

Image source, Jane Barlow/Reuters

The first minister stressed that "the immediate challenge is the focus on recovery and the part that all policy portfolios can play in that".

She also pointed out that Scotland "must and will have the chance to choose its future in line with the unquestionable democratic mandate for that choice".

Shirley-Anne Somerville takes on the role of Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.

She will "take forward work on Covid recovery within the education system" as well as continuing efforts to close the attainment gap.

The MSP was social security minister in the previous Scottish government.

Image source, GETTY IMAGES

Kate Forbes takes on an expanded brief as cabinet secretary for finance and the economy.

This combined portfolio will include responsibility for the budget, fiscal policy and taxation.

Ms Forbes will also be the cabinet secretary in charge of;

• economic strategy
• the wellbeing economy
• trade and inward investment
• city and regional growth deals
• enterprise
• and the digital economy.

A Cambridge University graduate, Ms Forbes has been finance secretary for just over a year and is the first woman to hold the post in either the UK or Scottish parliaments.

• Nicola Sturgeon - First Minister
• John Swinney - Deputy First Minister and Covid recovery
• Kate Forbes - Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy
• Humza Yousaf - Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
• Shirley-Anne Somerville - Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills

• Michael Matheson - Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport
• Keith Brown - Cabinet Secretary for Justice
• Shona Robison - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government
• Angus Robertson - Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
• Mairi Gougeon - Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands

Humza Yousaf takes the crucial role of health and social care secretary.

Mr Yousaf will have responsibility for the NHS, including ongoing health service remobilisation as Scotland moves out of the pandemic.

His portfolio will also cover the establishment of the National Care Service.

Shirley-Anne Somerville becomes education secretary and Humza Yousaf takes the health role.

BBC Scotland political correspondent Lynsey Bews says there are now 10 potential members of the cabinet.

They are:

• First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
• Deputy First Minister John Swinney
• Humza Yousaf
• Kate Forbes
• Shirley-Anne Somerville
• Michael Matheson
• Mairi Gougeon
• Shona Robison
• Angus Robertson
• Keith Brown

The bulging education inboxpublished at 11:37 British Summer Time 19 May 2021

11:37 BST 19 May 2021

Lucy Whyte
BBC Scotland education correspondent

The new education secretary will have a lot to deal with straight away.

Most pressing will be the situation around assessments which are being used to determine grades in place of school exams.

We are still waiting to hear about how the appeals process will work and it’s likely the new secretary will need to have their eyes on that before it gets the go-ahead.

They’ll also need to get on with the job of figuring out how to hire the promised extra teachers and get up to speed on Covid-19 issues.

There is also the OECD report into Scotland’s school system - the new minister will be the one answering questions when it’s released towards the end of next month.

Image source, PA Media

Nicola Sturgeon has paid tribute to two of the Scottish government's longest serving ministers who are leaving their posts.

Fiona Hyslop has stepped down as the country's economy, fair work and culture secretary, and Fergus Ewing as the rural economy secretary.

The first minister said Ms Hyslop's work on "giving our country a higher profile than it has ever had before on the global stage" is a legacy she can be proud of.

Two cabinet stalwarts departpublished at 11:24 British Summer Time 19 May 2021

11:24 BST 19 May 2021

Andrew Kerr
Scottish political correspondent

So it’s farewell then to Fiona Hyslop and Fergus Ewing from the Sturgeon government.

Fiona Hyslop served in the Cabinet for a remarkable 14 years and Fergus Ewing has also been in government since 2007 – the last five years in the Cabinet.

This need not be seen as a snub. Often ministers request to leave.

Mr Ewing’s predecessor at rural affairs, Richard Lochhead, asked to step back due to family reasons. He was also deeply mired in the farm payments subsidy at the time.

Ministerial demands are onerous. The pay is certainly good (£113,000) but the hours are long.

For some, it might be time to look back and reflect personally on what’s been achieved – now perhaps wanting to give more time to their constituents.

It’s also clear the first minister wants fresh faces around the table too. It helps the government look new and forward thinking.

So these departures are no doubt by mutual agreement. It can be fascinating, though, to look at the departing ministers’ correspondence with the leader as they exit government.

Some of them can be extremely pointed – see when Sajid Javid was forced to quit as Chancellor by Boris Johnson.

That won’t be the case here – expect to see a warm exchange of words.

The latest MSP to arrive at Bute House is Keith Brown.

He is the SNP's deputy leader, succeeding Angus Robertson. Mr Brown is a one-time economy secretary.

Nicola Sturgeon will have to seek the approval of parliament on her proposals for the appointment of Scottish Ministers. The plan will be set out in Holyrood motions that will be considered at 2pm tomorrow.

Motions must be agreed by a simple majority of MSP, with the total number of votes cast greater than a quarter of the total number of seats in the parliament.

Image source, Getty Images

The Queen will then be asked to approve the first minister’s ministerial appointments.

Following the motions, MSPs will elect members to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB).

The SPCB considers and makes decisions on a wide range of issues to do with the running of the parliament, including its financing and allocation of budget; staffing; accommodation and the security of parliamentary facilities at Holyrood. It also supports MSPs in their local offices.

'A major shake-up was always going to be on the cards'published at 11:01 British Summer Time 19 May 2021

11:01 BST 19 May 2021

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Nicola Sturgeon's cabinet is likely to look very different by the end of the day.

This is partly out of necessity - four of her ministers have retired from Holyrood altogether.

But it is also part of refreshing the ranks of a team that has been in government since 2007.

Fiona Hyslop and Fergus Ewing are leaving after 14 years in office. Nicola Sturgeon too has been in government since 2007, and next year will become Scotland's longest-serving first minister.

So a major shake-up was always likely to be on the cards, to re-invigorate the SNP's leadership.

There will be plenty of new faces - and also new roles for them to fill, with the portfolios themselves likely to be redrawn to suit the fresh challenges facing Scotland in 2021.

What we know so far;

• First arrivals at Bute House included Humza Yousaf (Justice) and Kate Forbes (Finance)
• Meanwhile, Fiona Hyslop and Fergus Ewing are leaving - they had been two of the Scottish government's longest serving ministers.
• Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville was not at Bute House but she had a video call with the FM.
• Transport Secretary Michael Matheson and Public Health Minister Mairi Gougeon are at the first minister's residence.
• Former health secretary, Shona Robison, also arrived.
• The SNP's former Westminster leader Angus Robertson is seeing Ms Sturgeon this morning. He won a Holyrood seat on 6 May.

• Full cabinet appointments are due to be known this morning with junior minister roles made public later

Image source, PA Media

• Yesterday, Scotland's Deputy First Minister John Swinney was given a new role leading the country's pandemic recovery. He had been education secretary.

• Last term's cabinet members - Jeane Freeman, Mike Russell, Roseanna Cunningham and Aileen Campbell - did not seek re-election.
• Ms Freeman was health secretary and former energy minister Paul Wheelhouse lost his seat in the election.

Image source, PA Media

The latest arrival to Bute House is the former SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson.

Mr Robertson won the Edinburgh Central constituency, which had been held by Ruth Davidson, who has been given a life peerage.

Image source, Getty Images

The current Public Health Minister Mairi Gougeon has arrived to meet Nicola Sturgeon.

BBC Scotland political correspondent Lynsey Bews believes there could be a promotion to the cabinet for the MSP.

Last December, Ms Gougeon was named the Scottish government's new public health minister, with responsibility for Covid-19 testing across the country.

The move came after Joe FitzPatrick lost his post in the government over drug deaths hitting a new record level.

Read more here

What is in Nicola Sturgeon's in-tray?published at 10:16 British Summer Time 19 May 2021

10:16 BST 19 May 2021

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Image source, PA Media

This reshuffle and the Covid crisis, followed by a referendum, are top of the first minister's 'to do' list, but there will also have to be work done on the independence proposition.

There's a daunting list, also, of public service reforms, economic priorities led by shifting energy markets, and the setting up of a national care service.

The first minister's in-tray has to be a robust structure at the best of times. Coming out of an election, with a pandemic and an independence referendum in sight, it is unusually daunting.

So what has Nicola Sturgeon got to do now?

Our Business and Economy Editor Douglas Fraser has been taking a look, here.

The transport secretary in the last cabinet, Michael Matheson, arrives at Bute House. Also arriving is Shona Robison, who had most recently been on the back-benches but had previously held the health secretary post between 2014 and 2018.