General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 2 May 2024.
Colin Smyth
Labour
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to prevent the closure of care homes in South Lanarkshire. (S6O-03385)
Maree Todd
Scottish National Party
No one wants to see the closure of good-quality care homes, as I have said already. Decisions on how best to deliver services for local communities are for integration authorities to make, in consultation with people who use those services and in full awareness of the impact on them.
I met the save McClymont house group on 26 April. I have also written to the South Lanarkshire chief officer and chair of the integration joint board requesting an urgent meeting to seek reassurances on the steps that they plan to take to ensure that the residents of both care homes in question continue to receive the support that they deserve.
As the member knows, the 2024-25 national health service recovery, health and social care budget contains £2 billion investment for social care and integration. That represents an increase of more than £1 billion compared to 2021-22, exceeding our commitment to increase funding for social care by 25 per cent over this parliamentary session.
Colin Smyth
Labour
The residents of McClymont house do not want the Minister to write to them to talk about assurances; they want the minister to intervene to save McClymont house. The IJB has made it clear to the minister that the closure is an entirely financial decision, in order to plug a funding shortfall of £33 million. The minister knows that the closure proposal is absolutely devastating for the older, vulnerable people who face being kicked out of their home, to save just a few hundred thousand pounds at a time when the home could be used as a step-down facility to tackle delayed discharge.
Will the minister intervene now? A national care service will be too late—people want Intervention now. Will she save that care home for the residents who face being homeless as a result of its closure?
Maree Todd
Scottish National Party
The member is aware that the chief officer of the IJB has written to request my Intervention in that case. As a result of that request, I have met the families who are affected by the closure and I have requested an urgent meeting with the IJB’s chief officer and members, in order to discuss the closure.
The most important thing is that the individuals who live in that care home—and their families—are satisfied that the care that they currently receive, which is acknowledged to be of an exceptionally high quality, is continued beyond whatever arrangements are made for their care.
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.
An intervention is when the MP making a speech is interrupted by another MP and asked to 'give way' to allow the other MP to intervene on the speech to ask a question or comment on what has just been said.
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.
