– in the Scottish Parliament at on 6 March 2024.
Collette Stevenson
Scottish National Party
5. To ask the Scottish Government when the finance secretary last met the United Kingdom Government and what was discussed. (S6O-03162)
Tom Arthur
Scottish National Party
The Deputy First Minister spoke to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury this morning, ahead of the Chancellor of the exchequer’s budget statement, and she reiterated the need to prioritise investment in public services and infrastructure over tax cuts. That followed a meeting in January at which she set out the Scottish Government’s priorities for the UK budget. I wrote to the chief secretary last month, and the Deputy First Minister wrote to the Chancellor, urging him to invest in public services and provide targeted support for people in light of the cost of living crisis.
We are examining today’s UK budget in detail and what it means for the Scottish budget.
Collette Stevenson
Scottish National Party
The Tory Government’s spring budget that was announced today will do little to improve capital investment and it has failed to match Scotland’s lead on social security. There is no UK equivalent of the Scottish child payment and no essentials guarantee for people on universal credit. The budget will do nothing to lift people out of poverty.
I appreciate that the announcement has not long finished, but can the Minister outline the potential consequences for people in Scotland of the UK Government’s statement? Can he confirm how the Scottish National Party, in government, is ensuring that we are investing to strengthen the social contract and lift people out of poverty?
Tom Arthur
Scottish National Party
Despite our calling on the Chancellor to provide an essentials guarantee and to abolish damaging policies such as the two-child limit and the bedroom tax, the UK Government, in its budget, has failed to tackle poverty. We are carefully considering the implications of today’s announcement for the Scottish budget, and the Deputy First Minister will report back to Parliament in due course.
Through the Scottish budget, we are mitigating as best we can the UK Government’s actions. I am proud that, in 2024-25, we will invest £6.3 billion in social security benefits and that an estimated 100,000 fewer children will live in relative and absolute poverty as a result of our policies.
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.
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
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.
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.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
