Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 11 March 2021.
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.
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.
