Lynne Neagle has been named Wales’ new education secretary.
The former deputy minister for mental health and wellbeing was appointed as part of a Cabinet reshuffle by the new first minister Vaughan Gething.
Ms Neagle, MS for Torfaen, takes over from Jeremy Miles, who was appointed minister for education and Welsh language in May 2021.
Mr Miles - who ran against Mr Gething in the race to replace Mark Drakeford as Welsh Labour leader - moves to become Cabinet secretary for economy, energy and Welsh language.
Mr Gething narrowly beat Mr Miles, with 51.7 per cent of the vote, and in so doing became the first Black leader of any European nation.
Ms Neagle - who is described on the Senedd website as being passionate about children and young people’s mental health - was chair of the Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee from 2016 to 2021.
She was elected to the then National Assembly in 1999. Before being elected, she worked in the voluntary sector and was a researcher for Glenys Kinnock MEP.
Challenging time for Welsh education
Ms Neagle - who is married and has two sons - takes over at a challenging time for the Welsh education system. The new curriculum, Curriculum for Wales, began being rolled out in all primaries and secondaries this academic year, with qualifications reform to follow.
In December, Wales recorded its worst-ever performance in maths, reading and science tests taken by 15-year-olds.
In the first Programme for International Student Assessment assessments since Covid, Welsh scores were the lowest of all UK nations.
Revealing his new team, Mr Gething said it would “answer the call of the generation in waiting, to create a stronger, fairer, greener Wales”.
