Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 22 May 2024.
Clare Haughey
Scottish National Party
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of the reduction in Scotland’s capital budget as a result of changes to Scotland’s block grant. (S6O-03464)
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
Our block grant for capital is expected to reduce in real terms by about 9 per cent by 2027-28, which represents a cumulative loss of more than £1.3 billion. In addition, our financial transactions allocation has been reduced by 62 per cent since 2022-23, which amounts to a reduction of £290 million. That means that we will have to continue to make tough decisions to reprioritise our infrastructure pipeline to ensure that it is affordable and deliverable and that it provides the best value for money.
Clare Haughey
Scottish National Party
Westminster is set to cut Scotland’s capital budget by almost 9 per cent in real terms over the next five years, which will have a significant impact on my Constituency. For example, there will be less funding available to build affordable homes, and South Lanarkshire Council will continue to refuse to build a much-needed high school to serve communities such as Newton Farm, Drumsagard village and Halfway. Does the Cabinet secretary agree that it is deeply concerning that a potential Labour United Kingdom Government is signing up to public spending cuts, doubling down on Tory austerity and further restricting Scotland’s capital spending power?
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
The real-terms cuts that our capital budget faces are significantly impacting on our ability to deliver much-needed infrastructure investment, whether that is in Clare Haughey’s Constituency or across Scotland. I called on the UK Government to increase investment in capital projects and to release Barnett consequentials for devolved Governments, but the spring statement provided no additional capital funding.
I hope that everyone in the chamber agrees that it is absolutely imperative that whoever forms the next UK Government after the UK election changes course, reverses the cuts to capital spending and invests for the future. If they do not, they will be held accountable for that loss of capital investment.
Willie Rennie
Liberal Democrat
I recognise those cuts, but the reduction in inflation has released the pressure on capital spending—in factual terms, an additional £229 million is available as a result of that reduction. Will the Cabinet secretary set out what that additional spend will be allocated to? What are the Government’s priorities?
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
The infrastructure investment pipeline will be set out, alongside the medium-term financial strategy, on 20 June. That is when we will set out to Parliament how we will use the capital budget that is available to us and what other levers we will use.
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 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.
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
