– in the Scottish Parliament at on 20 December 2016.
Kenneth Macintosh
Labour
As Presiding Officer, I expect Government announcements on important policy issues to be made to the Parliament in the first instance. I was concerned to discover this morning that the First Minister was making a statement to the media on Scotland’s place in Europe. Members of the media, therefore, had the opportunity to question the First Minister on the document before members of the Parliament did so.
The Parliamentary Bureau considered the matter at its meeting today and has agreed to consider the broader issues of announcements to Parliament in the new year. However, the Minister for Parliamentary Business wishes to update the Parliament on this afternoon’s statement.
Joe FitzPatrick
Scottish National Party
Although this is not a change of business, it is appropriate to take this opportunity to inform the chamber that the First Minister will give the statement on Scotland’s place in Europe.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
