1. Shona McRory Robison was born on 26 May 1966 and is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government since 2023.
40 Facts About Shona Robison
1. 2.
Shona Robison served as Minister for Public Health and Sport from 2007 to 2011.
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Shona Robison then oversaw the Scottish Government's preparations for the 2014 Commonwealth Games as Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport from 2011 to April 2014, when she was promoted to the Scottish Cabinet by Alex Salmond as Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games, Sport, Equalities and Pensioners' Rights.
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Shona Robison returned to the backbenches, where she served on the justice and health committees.
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In 2021, Shona Robison returned to Sturgeon's government as the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government.
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Shona McRory Robison was born in Redcar, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, on 26 May 1966.
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Shona Robison gained a Master of Arts in Social Science at the University of Glasgow in 1989.
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Shona Robison was an active member of the party's youth wing the Young Scottish Nationalist, now known as Young Scots for Independence, where she met the likes of Nicola Sturgeon and Fiona Hyslop.
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Shona Robison contested in the first election to the Scottish Parliament for the Dundee East constituency.
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Shona Robison served in the SNP's opposition cabinet as the shadow deputy minister for health and community care.
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Shona Robison served as the Shadow Minister for Health and Social Justice in the SNP's opposition benches.
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Shona Robison was appointed Minister for Commonwealth Games and Sport.
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Shona Robison insisted that Christopher Whatley's involvement in the Five Million Questions project about the implications of the referendum meant he should have taken a neutral stance on the constitutional issue.
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On 21 November 2014, Shona Robison was appointed by Sturgeon as Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport, in Sturgeon's first government.
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Shona Robison stood down on the day the Scottish government confirmed its worst cancer waiting times for six years.
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Shona Robison served on the Parliament's Justice Committee and Social Security Committee.
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On 20 May 2021, Sturgeon announced her third government, with Shona Robison returning as Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government.
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Shona Robison held the position of Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice until the election of Humza Yousaf as First Minister in March 2023.
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Shona Robison reassured MSPs and the public that the bill did "not conflict with work to advance women's rights and equality" and that she was "conscious that some of the details of the proposed reforms have become lost within the wider discussions around trans rights and the perceived conflict with the rights of women and girls".
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Shona Robison wrote to three individual MSPs claiming that their amendments put the bill "at serious risk".
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The bill was blocked by the UK Government, with Shona Robison stating that she would "vigorously contest" any attempt by the UK Government to block the gender reform legislations which the Scottish Parliament has control over.
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Shona Robison was officially sworn into office the next day and was appointed finance secretary in Yousaf's new government.
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In July 2023, Shona Robison intervened in the speculation over Inverclyde Royal Hospital being downgraded.
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Shona Robison committed further money for improvements to both NHS Scotland services and facilities, citing proposals set out to be met by 2026.
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Shona Robison said that her immediate priorities as Finance Secretary was "more efficient public services and fair work" being at the heart of the Economy of Scotland.
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Shona Robison recognising the importance of re-developing Scotland's infrastructure and economy to allow it to be more sustainable in the future, with plans for laying foundations to produce 5 Gigawatts of hydrogen production by 2030, as part of a Scottish hydrogen supply chain.
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Shona Robison highlighted the importance of "sound public finances" being "key to ensuring we can tackle poverty and build a fair, green and growing economy whilst improving our public services".
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Shona Robison claimed that the current economic situation in Scotland had "been amongst the most challenging since devolution", citing global issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and soaring inflation being driving factors directly impacting the Scottish economy.
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Shona Robison was critical of UK Government policy and decision making that had impacted on Scotland, including Brexit and its association economic impact, "a decade of austerity" and the September 2022 United Kingdom mini-budget.
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In November 2023, Shona Robison claimed that the workforce within Scotland's public sector "will have to shrink" as a result of funding pressure.
31.
The administrations of Argyll and Bute Council and Inverclyde Council asked for additional funding from the Scottish Government to assist in maintaining a council tax freeze in their local authorities, with Shona Robison saying that "if approved, it means households across the whole country would benefit from help during the cost of living crisis".
32.
In February 2024, Shona Robison wrote to Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, where she was critical of the UK Governments proposals as set out in the 2024 UK Spring Budget.
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Shona Robison addressed the continued "fallout" facing the economy as a result of Brexit, again highlighting that the majority of the Scottish electorate voted against leaving the European Union.
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Shona Robison argued that Brexit continues to have a negative impact on Scottish businesses as a result of additional complexities and increased costs as a result of leaving the European single market.
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Shona Robison attributed the financial pressures to prolonged Westminster austerity, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, and the cost of living crisis.
36.
Ahead of the 2025 Scottish budget, Shona Robison stated that as a consequence of the increase to the amount of National Insurance public sectors employers pay which was announced by the UK Government that Scotland "must be compensated" by HM Treasury.
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Shona Robison demanded "urgent clarity" on the announcement of additional funding to compensate for increased staffing in public sector services in Scotland.
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Shona Robison stated that she would carefully assess the Autumn budget in full ahead of her announcement of the Scottish Budget on 4 December 2024.
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Shona Robison delivered the 2025 Scottish budget to the Scottish Parliament on 4 December 2024.
40.
Shona Robison was married to Stewart Hosie, who is the Westminster MP for Dundee East and was previously the SNP's Depute Leader.