Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 20 April 2022.
Stephen Kerr
Conservative
I would have liked to hear an answer to my question in the Minister’s response.
In Falkirk, there has been very welcome investment by the UK Government that has funded what I call the magic roundabout at the Helix, which will open up investment opportunities at junction 6 of the M9. There is a new regional growth deal in the offing, as well as the hope of landing one of Scotland’s two free ports at Grangemouth. At the same time, the Scottish Government has cut the funding for flood prevention and has frozen the council’s capital grant. Are local authorities such as Falkirk Council to rely solely on the support of the UK Government to level up and power up their local areas?
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.
