Minister for Children and Young People
Current role holder: Maree Todd MSP
Maree Todd was appointed Minister for Childcare and Early Years in November 2017.
Responsibilities
Supports the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
Specific responsibilities are:
- childcare implementation
- early years
- child protection
- adoption and fostering
- children's hearings
- children's rights
- children's services
- looked after children
- protection of vulnerable groups
- social service workforce
- British Sign Language (BSL) portfolio
Biography
Maree Todd grew up in the West Highlands, attending Ullapool High School and then studying pharmacy and prescribing at Robert Gordon's and Strathclyde, as well as taking an ante-natal teaching diploma at the University of Bedfordshire.
A pharmacist by profession, Todd worked in NHS Highland for 20 years, mainly as a mental health pharmacist in a psychiatric hospital. She also contributed to SIGN guidance on perinatal mental health.