instance_of minister for community safety and legal affairs
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon ( born 19 ___MASK90___ 1970 ) is a ___MASK32___ ___MASK66___ who is the fifth and current First Minister of Scotland and the leader of the ___MASK32___ National Party ( SNP ), in office since 2014 . She is the first woman to hold either ___MASK34___ . Sturgeon has been a member of the ___MASK32___ Parliament since 1999 , first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region from 1999 to 2007 , and as the member for Glasgow Southside since 2007 ( known as Glasgow Govan from 2007 to 2011 ). The Scotland Act 1998 ( 1998 c . 46 ) is an Act of the ___MASK83___ of the United Kingdom . It is the Act which established the devolved ___MASK32___ ___MASK83___ . The First ___MASK85___ of Scotland is the leader of the ___MASK32___ ___MASK84___ . The First ___MASK85___ chairs the ___MASK32___ Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation , development and presentation of ___MASK32___ ___MASK84___ policy . Additional functions of the First ___MASK85___ include promoting and representing Scotland , in an official capacity , at ___MASK21___ and abroad and responsibility for constitutional affairs , as they relate to devolution and the ___MASK32___ ___MASK84___ . The ___MASK85___ for Community Safety and Legal Affairs is a Junior ministerial post in the ___MASK32___ ___MASK84___ . As a ___MASK73___ , the minister does not attend the ___MASK32___ Cabinet . The post was created in ___MASK79___ 2007 after the appointment of the ___MASK32___ National Party minority administration and the minister reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice , who has overall responsibility for the portfolio , and is a member of cabinet . The ___MASK85___ for Community Safety has specific responsibility for anti - social behaviour , sectarianism , human rights and fire and rescue services . Community safety , civil contingencies , drugs policy and related matters , liquor licensing , vulnerable witnesses , victim support and civil law , charity law , religious and faith organisations are other matters for which the minister has responsibility . ___MASK32___ independence is a political aim of various political parties , advocacy groups , and individuals in Scotland ( which is a country of the United Kingdom ) for the country to become an independent sovereign state . The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign ___MASK53___ in western Europe . ___MASK88___ off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole ___MASK53___ ), the north - eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic ___MASK87___ , with the North ___MASK93___ to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic ___MASK93___ to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish ___MASK93___ lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - most populous ___MASK53___ , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth most densely populated ___MASK53___ in the European Union . The ___MASK32___ National Party ( SNP ) is a ___MASK32___ nationalist and social - democratic political party in Scotland . The SNP supports and campaigns for ___MASK32___ independence . It is the third - largest political party by membership in the United Kingdom , as well as by overall representation in the House of Commons , behind the Labour Party and the Conservative Party , and is the largest party in Scotland , where it dominates both the ___MASK32___ Parliament and the country ' s parliamentary delegation to the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Its leader , Nicola Sturgeon , is the current First Minister of Scotland . The ___MASK32___ Parliament ( Scots : " The Scots Pairlament "), is the devolved national , unicameral legislature of Scotland . Located in the Holyrood area of the capital ___MASK26___ , Edinburgh , it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyrood . The ___MASK83___ of the United Kingdom , commonly known as the UK ___MASK83___ or British ___MASK83___ , is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom , British ___MASK25___ dependencies and British overseas territories . It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories . Its ___MASK22___ is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom ( currently Queen Elizabeth II ) and its seat is the ___MASK51___ of Westminster in the ___MASK26___ of Westminster , London . The ___MASK9___ Secretary for Justice , commonly referred to as the Justice Secretary , is a ___MASK34___ in the Scottish Government ___MASK9___ . The ___MASK9___ Secretary has overall responsibility for law and order in Scotland . The ___MASK9___ Secretary is assisted by the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs . The ___MASK32___ ___MASK84___ is Scotland ' s devolved ___MASK84___ . The ___MASK84___ was established in 1999 as the ___MASK32___ Executive under section 44 ( 1 ) of the Scotland Act 1998 , which created a devolved administration for Scotland in line with the ___MASK73___ of the 1997 referendum on ___MASK32___ devolution . It was formally renamed in 2012 to the ___MASK32___ ___MASK84___ by section 12 ( 1 ) of the Scotland Act 2012 . The ___MASK84___ consists of cabinet secretaries , who attend cabinet meetings , and ministers , who do not . It is led by the first minister , who selects the cabinet secretaries and ministers with approval of parliament . Scotland ( Scots : ) is a ___MASK53___ that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the ___MASK69___ of Great Britain . It shares a border with ___MASK95___ to the south , and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic ___MASK87___ , with the North ___MASK93___ to the east and the North Channel and Irish ___MASK93___ to the south - west . In addition to the mainland , the ___MASK53___ is made up of more than 790 islands , including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides .