Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 9 November 2023.
Paul O'Kane
Labour
As well as noting the adult disability payment figures, I see that the figures for child disability payment show that, in the first six months of the year—January to June—only 20.3 per cent of cases were processed within the four-month target, and the median processing time has worsened, rising from 91 working days in December 2022 to 102 working days in June 2023. Is it not clear from those statistics, coupled with the figures for adult disability payment, that the situation is getting worse, and that both people in receipt of ADP and families in receipt of CDP are waiting in limbo for decisions? What will the Cabinet secretary do to deal with both those issues?
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.
