THE Scottish Government has announced who will be the new community safety minister following Ash Regan's resignation.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has asked Elena Whitham to join the Scottish Government as minister for community safety.
Whitham’s appointment will be put to Parliament and the King, and subject to approval she will take up the post, reporting to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans, Keith Brown.
Prior to entering elected politics, Whitham worked in community youth and homelessness roles and ran three businesses as a sole trader, in addition to spending over a decade as a Women’s Aid worker in Ayrshire, supporting women and children experiencing domestic abuse.
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More recently, she served as the depute leader of East Ayrshire Council and was also COSLA’s community wellbeing spokesperson, where her remit included housing and homelessness.
The First Minister said: “I would like to thank Ash Regan for her Ministerial contribution to the Scottish Government, most notably in leading new legislation to control the sale and use of fireworks and tackling inequality in the justice system.
“I’m pleased to appoint Elena to her first ministerial position, which has cross-cutting responsibilities across Scotland’s fire service, our justice system, and the prevention of violence against women and girls.
“I’m confident Elena’s professional and personal experience will stand her in good stead for this role and I look forward to working with her to improve the safety of communities across the country.”
Whitham will take over the role following Regan's resignation over reforms to the Gender Reform Recognition Act, with the former minister saying her “conscience” could not allow her to back the proposed changes.
Sturgeon said that Regan had never previously raised concerns about the law change.
However, the former minister later claimed that Sturgeon was aware that she had issues with the reforms.
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