Fiona Hyslop was appointed as the Scottish Government’s new Minister for Transport in June 2023, supporting the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, Màiri McAllan.
Responsibilities
The list below represents the portfolio responsibilities for Transport. The precise delineation of responsibilities between the Minister and the Cabinet Secretary will be developed over time and updated in due course.
Specific responsibilities are:
- national transport strategy
- Strategic Transport Projects Review
- public transport
- accessible transport
- Just Transition to a zero emission transport system
- 20% reduction in car kilometres
- rail services
- concessionary fares and bus services
- Future Transport Fund
- low emission zones
- ferry services – including CMAL
- roads and road safety
- motorways and trunk roads
- transport information
- Scottish canals
- freight industry
- maritime policy including ports and canals
- aviation and air services (including HIAL)
- transport resilience and major events
- island connectivity (jointly with Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands)
Biography
Ms Hyslop was born in Ayrshire in 1964 and with her family spent her early years in England before returning to Ayrshire. She graduated from Glasgow University with an MA (Hons) in Economic History and Sociology.
She completed a post graduate Diploma in Industrial Administration at the Scottish College of Textiles, before moving to Edinburgh to join the financial services company Standard Life where she held various positions in sales and marketing, latterly as Brand Development Manager.
Elected in the first session of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 she has been returned as the Constituency MSP for Linlithgow since 2011.
When the SNP formed a minority administration in 2007 Ms Hyslop was appointed as Cabinet Secretary for Education & Lifelong Learning before serving in several ministerial roles, latterly Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work & Culture, before standing down as a minister in 2021.
Read more about Fiona Hyslop on the Scottish Parliament website.