Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 14 June 2018.
Finlay Carson
Conservative
This week we have unfortunately seen yet more job losses in Dumfries and Galloway. The owners of M Corson’s, a much-loved, family-run business with more than 400 years of history, have taken the tough decision to close their four shops in my Constituency, resulting in 34 redundancies. Thirty-four jobs might not be a huge figure in Scotland-wide terms, but in a small rural community, losses of that level are significant. In other circumstances, help is being provided. Will the First Minister outline what support the Scottish Government can give to the company and workers facing redundancy?
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
