Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
Neil Gray was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care in May 2024.
Responsibilities
These ministerial pages reflect the position at the start of the pre-election period, on 26 March 2026. A new ministerial team will be announced shortly after the Parliament selects its nominee for First Minister. Up to that point the previous ministerial team remains in post.
The Cabinet Secretary is responsible for:
- NHS recovery and remobilisation
- acute services
- allied healthcare services
- centre of excellence for rural and remote medicine and social care
- community care
- eHealth
- health and social care integration
- health improvement and protection
- NHS estate
- NHS performance
- patient services and patient safety
- person-centred care
- primary care and GPs
- quality and improvement
- unscheduled care
- workforce, training, planning, and pay
Supporting Ministers
Biography
Neil Gray was born and brought up in Orkney and was educated at Kirkwall Grammar School. He graduated from the University of Stirling in 2008 with a first-class Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in politics and journalism.
He was elected to represent Airdrie and Shotts Constituency at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.
He had previously won the Airdrie and Shotts Westminster seat in 2015 and held it on two subsequent occasions before resigning to stand for the same area in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. Prior to becoming an MP, Mr Gray worked for former Scottish Government Health Secretary Alex Neil MSP as his Airdrie and Shotts constituency office manager.
Neil Gray was appointed Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development in January 2022. In March 2022 he additionally became Minister with special responsibility for Refugees from Ukraine. He was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy in March 2023, and Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care in February 2024.
- Read more about Neil Gray on the Scottish Parliament website.