When I took this job a year and a half ago, I made the people of all of Great Britain a number of promises. I said my administration would be fair, and honest, and transparent, and would work for all of the wizarding people no matter their birth. I promised that I would listen instead of talking, and I promised that the government would be responsive to the will of the people.
Yesterday, the people of Scotland called upon me to make good on my promise. "Shall the Minister for Magic appoint a Minister for Scottish Affairs as a Member of the Wizengamot and form a department for Scottish Affairs?" The vote has been certified and I shall now proceed.
This is not a task that we can accomplish today, or this week, and we expect Scotland and the other countries to be inextricably tied by blood, trade, and friendship for all time, but we can honor the desire of the Scottish people to have a ministry department which deals with their concerns.
To that end, I am establishing a search committee to find suitable candidates for the position of Minister for Scottish Affairs, who will be head-of-department of the Department for Scottish Affairs. Any citizen who was eligible to vote in the last scottish eleciton may be submitted as a candidate, and the search committee will forward me the top five candidates.
As a second action towards creation of the Department of Scottish Affairs, I have asked each of my Heads-of-Department to do an analysis of their departments to determine what functions can and should be transferred to the new Department.
And finally, I am creating the permanent staff position of Deputy Head of the Department of Scottish Affairs, which position is not expected to change when the Minister for Magic is replaced. That job will be posted this week and is expected to go to a qualified candidate within the Ministry.
Scotland, I hope that we have a long and prosperous union and that this new arrangement suits your needs. I look forward to helping you build your new future and that together we can build a better Britain.