– in the Scottish Parliament at on 6 March 2024.
Claire Baker
Labour
4. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its review of how to increase the number of co-operatives, social enterprises and employee-owned businesses as part of the move to a wellbeing economy. (S6O-03153)
Màiri McAllan
Scottish National Party
I am happy to do that. The independent review, which is focused on increasing the number of social enterprises, employee-owned businesses and co-operatives, is due for completion in spring. The review group is being chaired by Neil McInroy, who is the global lead for community wealth building in the Democracy Collaborative and the chair of the Economic Development Association Scotland. The review process will ensure that expertise from across those business models will be considered. I look forward to receiving its findings.
Claire Baker
Labour
I look forward to the review, which has been delayed—we have been waiting for it for a wee while. We know that, to achieve the aim of 500 employee-owned businesses in Scotland by 2030, related activity needs to ramp up significantly.
The Cabinet secretary will know that new co-operatives are more than twice as likely to survive as other start-ups are and that co-operatives are five times less likely to cease trading than other businesses, so what is the Scottish Government going to do to increase awareness of co-operative business models for potential new businesses? How is it encouraging existing businesses to consider adopting such models? Will the refreshed national strategy for economic transformation provide answers to those questions as well as the step change that we need?
Màiri McAllan
Scottish National Party
I agree absolutely with Claire Baker about the importance of ensuring that local people and businesses have a meaningful stake in relation to owning, producing and benefiting from the wealth that they create. As the wellbeing economy secretary, I absolutely support that and I have seen great examples of it in my Constituency.
I will very much draw the actions that are to be taken from the review when it is complete. I hope to receive a wide spectrum of views as part of the review, and I will draw from it any actions that will support achievement of the target, which Claire Baker was right to mention.
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
