London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Scotland's finance secretary Kate Forbes to take maternity leave

Scotland's finance secretary Kate Forbes to take maternity leave

Scotland's finance secretary Kate Forbes is pregnant and will be taking maternity leave in the summer, it has been announced.

It will be the first time a serving Scottish cabinet secretary has taken maternity leave.

Arrangements to cover her ministerial responsibilities while she is on leave will be set out by the first minister.

Ms Forbes has been finance secretary for two years, and has been tipped as a possible future first minister.

She has been working on finalising the Scottish government's budget plans for the coming year, which are due to be passed by MSPs on Thursday.

The government said she will remain as finance secretary while she is on maternity leave and will resume her duties upon her return on a date that has not yet been agreed.

In a statement, Ms Forbes said she and her husband Alasdair MacLennan - who she married in Dingwall in July of last year - were expecting their first child together later this year, and were "looking forward to welcoming a new member of our family".

She confirmed that she planned to take maternity leave from Holyrood, but said her office and team would still be available to help residents in her Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency.

Ms Forbes, 31, said her pregnancy had given her an "even deeper admiration for the thousands of women across the country who balance both work and personal responsibilities".


She added: "There might be particular challenges with being a politician in the public eye, whilst combating the side effects of pregnancy, but it is an experience which is familiar to countless women.

"Politics, like many workplaces, is often not renowned for being a supportive environment for parents.

"Hopefully I can play a small part in changing that, and demonstrating that it is possible to have children and a career, with the right support in place."

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was pleased that Ms Forbes "will be able to enjoy those precious early months with her new arrival and her wider family".

She added: "This should never be a barrier to someone's career, especially women in senior leadership roles.

"That is why we are clear Kate is not leaving government. She will remain Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy while on leave and take up her duties again upon her return."

Ms Forbes - who is the only woman to have ever served as finance secretary - is a member of the Free Church of Scotland, which follows a strict interpretation of the Bible.

She described last year how she had often had to "tiptoe around" her Christian faith because of a "fear and a sense that the public will think we only speak for our own rather than speak for everybody".

Although Ms Forbes will be the first cabinet secretary to take maternity leave, Aileen Campbell took maternity leave while serving as minister for children and young people in December 2014.


Kate Forbes: "I will definitely be taking maternity leave and trying to figure out how on earth to be a mother."


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
×