Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 1 February 2024.
Sharon Dowey
Conservative
Staff shortages mean that the public are waiting too long for in-person, face-to-face appointments. The number of GPs has not increased under the Scottish National Party—it has decreased. Practices in Ayrshire are closing due to a lack of GPs, and services at local hospitals are being downgraded due to a lack of consultants. That is unacceptable, and it is leaving patients, particularly in rural areas, without the care that they need. Will the Cabinet secretary tell the people of Ayrshire what he is doing to reverse the decline?
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.
