Alasdair Allan MSP is to be appointed the Minister for Scots.

The First Minister chose Dr Allan as Minister for Learning and Skills when he announced his ministerial team on Friday. Dr Allan will report to the Cabinet Secretary for Education an Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell MSP.

Dr Allan's portfolio includes Scots and Gaelic. He is a fluent speaker of both languages. He has long been a strong supporter of Scots and gained a PhD in the language in 1998.

Michael Hance, the Director of the SLC, welcomed the appointment:

“This is great news. Alasdair knows Scots well. he is a fluent Scots speaker from the Borders and has always taken a keen interest in the language and the work done by Scots organisations like the Scots Language Centre. I had the great pleasure of working alongside Alasdair on the Ministerial Working Group on Scots set up by Michael Russell in the last Parliament. Alasdair is always on top of the issues and I have no doubt he will make an excellent Minister for Scots.”

MSPs must now approve Dr Allan's appointment, along with those for the rest of the ministers and the new cabinet secretaries. The vote is set take place on Wednesday this week.

To read more about Dr Allan, click here.

To see the full list of cabinet secretaries and ministers, click here.

To