Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 1 May 2024.
Douglas Lumsden
Conservative
To ask the Scottish Government what the implications are for future tax revenue of reports that the economic recovery outlook for Scotland continues to lag behind the United Kingdom average. (S6O-03368)
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
Despite being tied to the failing UK economic model, the Scottish economy, far from lagging behind the UK, is one of the best-performing parts of the UK. Scotland, unlike the UK, avoided entering recession in 2023. Earnings in Scotland grew by 8 per cent in 2023, which is faster than in any other part of the UK, including London and the south-east, and income tax revenues are growing faster in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
Douglas Lumsden
Conservative
The latest Scottish Government report shows that growth in Scotland’s economy for 2025 is expected to be 1.1 per cent; in the rest of the UK, growth is expected to be nearly double that. Does the Cabinet secretary agree with me that that failure by the Scottish Government will mean an even bigger black hole for our budget in future years? What actions is the devolved Government taking to have growth levels that are comparable with those in the rest of the UK?
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
I know that the Conservatives find it difficult to welcome any good news about the Scottish economy. In my initial remarks, I laid out some of the areas in which the Scottish economy is outperforming the UK, in terms of strong earnings growth and record income tax receipts.
We are absolutely aware of the need for our economy to grow. Scotland’s gross domestic product per capita has grown faster than that of the UK since 2007, and productivity has grown at an annual average rate of 1 per cent a year in Scotland since 2007, compared with that of the UK at 0.4 per cent a year. Inward investment projects in Scotland have grown by 3.3 per cent, compared with a 6.4 per cent fall across the UK.
We absolutely want to make sure that we have a growing economy and we have strength in many areas, not least in net zero. It is just a pity that the Conservatives continue to talk down the Scottish economy.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
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 Conservatives are a centre-right political party in the UK, founded in the 1830s. They are also known as the Tory party.
With a lower-case ‘c’, ‘conservative’ is an adjective which implies a dislike of change, and a preference for traditional values.
