Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 10 March 2021.
Ben Macpherson
Scottish National Party
I pay tribute to Iain Gray, because this is probably the last time that I will interact with him in his work on behalf of the people of East Lothian.
In the 2021-22 budget, which was agreed yesterday, East Lothian Council will receive a total funding package of £203.6 million to support local services. That includes an extra £5.5 million to support vital day-to-day services. I am sure that there are other aspects of tackling climate change that the council will be looking at, such as the Scottish Government’s low-carbon fund and the vacant and derelict land fund, which is to support local authorities in expanding green space.
In my previous role as Minister for Public Finance and Migration, I had very good engagement with East Lothian Council. If there is capacity between now and the election period, I would be happy to receive correspondence and, potentially, to engage with it on its priorities.
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.
