– in the Scottish Parliament at on 9 March 2017.
Douglas Ross
Conservative
6. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of ambulance provision in the Moray area. (S5O-00757)
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
The deployment of ambulance resources is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service. The service reviews demand and resourcing throughout the country to ensure that it is delivering a safe and effective service that meets the needs of people and their communities across Scotland.
Douglas Ross
Conservative
The Cabinet secretary will be aware that, last week, 95 per cent of ambulance staff who are Unite members supported the call to start official dispute talks with management. Staff have said that bosses are clueless and more interested in spin than in sorting the service.
In Moray, we have a new ambulance that has not been used for months because of a lack of driver training and administrative errors that meant that the stock of oxygen in Elgin was so depleted that it had to be rationed by ambulance staff because their tanks were in the red. What is the cabinet secretary’s response to the catalogue of problems in the area, and will she agree to meet me and members of the Scottish Ambulance Service to urgently discuss these issues to ensure that local ambulance staff are properly equipped to do the job and that the public in Moray get the service that they expect and deserve?
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
I am aware of the issues that have been raised in the north of Scotland and I have been in contact with the Scottish Ambulance Service to discuss the matter. In fact, I discussed it with the chair of the service, David Garbutt, just this week. I am reassured that work is on-going to address the concerns that have been raised. It is very important that the concerns are addressed and I have asked to be kept informed of any development.
The Scottish Government has invested an extra £11.4 million in the Scottish Ambulance Service, which has helped with the recruitment of 200 additional paramedics this year, 30 of whom will be working in the Grampian area. I hope that the member welcomes that, because those are important resources that his constituents will benefit from.
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.
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