– in the Scottish Parliament at on 23 February 2023.
Beatrice Wishart
Liberal Democrat
Strike action across the Highlands and Islands network has resulted in airports including Sumburgh being closed since Tuesday. Shetland patients with hospital appointments on the Scottish mainland this week have had to have them rearranged, resulting in delays to treatment and using up precious time and resource within the NHS. Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd is wholly owned by Scottish ministers, so what is the First Minister going to do to secure a resolution and end the disruption to what are lifeline air services?
Nicola Sturgeon
Scottish National Party
I will answer that question in two parts. First, in relation to patients whose treatment has been delayed because of the industrial action, health boards will be working to ensure that any delays are minimised. Secondly, there is on-going dialogue to resolve the underlying issue, and I would expect HIAL to do everything possible to reach a resolution to ensure that any further disruption is completely avoided, or certainly minimised.
The Presiding Officer:
That concludes First Minister’s questions.
12:48 Meeting suspended.
12:49 On resuming—
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.
