First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 2 May 2024.
Roz McCall
Conservative
The number of recorded sexual crimes in Dunfermline is now higher than it was before the pandemic—1,000 sexual crimes have been reported in the city since 2017. Of those crimes, 223 were reported in 2022-23, which is a significantly higher number than the 163 such crimes that were reported in 2019-20, before the pandemic.
Local charities such as Safe Space—an organisation that supports survivors of child sex abuse in Dunfermline—work tirelessly to support victims of those horrendous crimes, but the numbers of those who are coming forward to use the service are such that they are simply overwhelming. It is obvious that current policy is not working. What will the Scottish Government do to halt the alarming increase in sexual crime?
Humza Yousaf
Scottish National Party
I thank Roz McCall for raising what is an exceptionally important issue indeed. We in this Government have always said that we must, first and foremost, improve the criminal justice system for those who, unfortunately, end up as victims and survivors of sexual offences, and I hope that we can get the support of the Conservatives on that.
On the prevention element, I know that Police Scotland is working extensively and tirelessly with communities to prevent sexual crimes from taking place in the first place. We will seek to do all that we can to support organisations such as Safe Space and many other third sector organisations. I will ensure that the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs writes to Roz McCall with some of the detail on what we can do, working in collaboration with both Police Scotland and—crucially—excellent third sector organisations such as Safe Space.
Jamie Greene
Conservative
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. Forgive me for not giving advance notice of this point, but I noticed that only three back benchers have been able to ask Constituency or supplementary questions today. Unfortunately, that has become a bit of a pattern at First Minister’s questions. I know that a number of members on all sides of the chamber have very pertinent issues to raise. Are you reviewing any potential changes to the format of FMQs that would allow for a far wider range and volume of back-bench questions to be asked and for the First Minister to answer them?
Alison Johnstone
Green
I thank Mr Greene for his point of order. I think that it is fair to say that I have shared my expectations with members on that issue on many occasions, and I have put forward my recommendation for timings of questions and responses. It is fair to say that there is still significant work to be done in the area. I note that, at the beginning of session 5, the Parliament extended First Minister’s Question Time, for the very purpose that Mr Greene outlined. I certainly hope that we will see a real move towards that, because it is really important that as many members as possible have those opportunities.
There will be a short suspension to allow people to leave the chamber and the public gallery before the next item of business begins.
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.
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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.
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
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.
