– in the Scottish Parliament at on 22 December 2016.
Neil Bibby
Labour
8. To ask the Scottish Government when the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport last met NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and what issues were discussed. (S5O-00516)
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet representatives of all boards to discuss matters of local importance.
Neil Bibby
Labour
At the start of this year, the First Minister promised the people of Inverclyde that services at Inverclyde royal hospital were safe. This week, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde agreed to hold a formal consultation on the closure of the birthing units at Inverclyde royal hospital and Vale of Leven hospital. If the Cabinet secretary will not make good on her Government’s pre-election promise and commit to stopping the closure of the birthing unit today, will she at the very least take the opportunity to tell people in Inverclyde when she will make that very important decision?
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
As Neil Bibby has just said, the NHS board agreed at its meeting this week that the proposals for Inverclyde royal hospital and Vale of Leven hospital were to be major service changes. Of course, that means that those major service changes will come to me. That is exactly what the member has been arguing for all along, I think. I hope that he will be satisfied that that is the case.
Paul Gray, the director general for health and social care, has written to the chair of Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board today to ensure that the terms of the consultation are consistent with the recommendations of the review of maternity and neonatal services which, as the member knows, will be published in the new year. Mr Gray is reiterating to the board chair that it is important that the recommendations of the review are understood before the consultation issues on Inverclyde royal hospital and Vale of Leven hospital.
As I have said before, I am happy to keep Neil Bibby and other members updated as the proposals proceed, but I am sure he will be satisfied that ultimately the decision will be mine.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
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.
