– in the Scottish Parliament at on 11 March 2021.
Gail Ross
Scottish National Party
4. To ask the Scottish Government what funding is being provided to local authorities for improvements to the road network. (S5O-05109)
Michael Matheson
Scottish National Party
Responsibility for local road improvements lies with local authorities. The Majority of funding to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provided via the block grant. We do not stipulate how authorities should utilise their allocations, but in 2021-22 we are delivering a funding package of £11.6 billion for local authorities, which provides an additional £335.6 million for vital day-to-day services in comparison with the 2020-21 settlement.
Gail Ross
Scottish National Party
I have been contacted by a new group that was set up in Caithness to try to address the current state of the roads there. I have also written to the Cabinet secretary directly about the matter. Will he commit to engaging with that group to help us find solutions before the roads become even more dangerous?
Michael Matheson
Scottish National Party
I am aware of the concerns that have been raised by an organisation called the Caithness roads recovery campaign. However, as I mentioned, the concerns that the group has raised are the responsibility of Highland Council, and any actions that need to be taken on the local road network are a matter for the council. The most effective way for the group to have its concerns addressed, therefore, is for it to meet Highland Council to discuss the issues, and for the council to consider what action can be taken, given the issues that the group has raised.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
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.
