Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 11 March 2021.
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
The investment and the related jobs are very welcome. Can the Cabinet secretary say more specifically what discussions the Scottish Government has had with Dundee City Council regarding Dundee’s 5G test-bed status and public wi-fi network to help further Dundee’s ambition to become a smart city, with the highest possible level of digital connectivity through the Tay cities deal?
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.
