General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 23 May 2024.
Kevin Stewart
Scottish National Party
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to tackle child poverty. (S6O-03476)
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
Eradicating child poverty in Scotland is a national mission and the First Minister’s top priority. We are supporting families in a variety of ways, including through the game-changing Scottish child payment, funded childcare, free bus travel for under-22s and free school meals for more than 277,000 children. We have also opened up a £1.5 million fund to help to clear school meals debt.
Modelling that was published in February estimates that our policies will keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty in 2024-25. I will deliver a statement to Parliament by the end of June, updating on progress in tackling child poverty.
Kevin Stewart
Scottish National Party
It is very welcome that the Scottish child payment and other Scottish Government policies will lift an estimated 100,000 children out of poverty this year. Has the Scottish Government had any discussions with United Kingdom counterparts—Tory and Labour—to persuade them of the benefits of what the Scottish National Party Government has done here, and to introduce a UK child payment, which would, of course, lead to more Barnett consequentials money coming here, so that we could do even more to eradicate child poverty in Scotland?
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
We have repeatedly called for the UK Government to match the scale of our ambition here in Scotland. That includes making changes to the reserved benefits system because, of course, the Majority of benefits are still reserved to the UK. Most important, I think, is the introduction of an essentials guarantee to reverse damaging welfare cuts such as the two-child limit. That, in itself, would lift 40,000 children here in Scotland out of poverty this year. It is disappointing, therefore, that the UK Government and the Labour Party have not entertained such types of changes and that both are still absolutely determined to keep the two-child cap.
Carol Mochan
Labour
The First Minister has set out tackling child poverty as his key mission and has acknowledged that almost one in four children in Scotland are still living in poverty. Given the importance that the Cabinet secretary and the First Minister place on tackling hunger, will the Government listen to key stakeholders such as Aberlour Child Care Trust and increase the free school meals income threshold for pupils in years when free entitlement does not yet exist?
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
As the First Minister has laid out, we will do everything that we can to tackle child poverty. I detailed some of our policies in my original answer. What makes it exceptionally difficult is when we see cuts to revenue and cuts to capital expenditure for the Scottish Government being delivered by the UK Government. It is disappointing that Carol Mochan’s party seems to be absolutely determined to keep to Tory spending plans, if a different Government is elected. That ties one hand behind our back, but we will, as I have said, continue to do everything that we can do to protect people in Scotland. It is a shame that the other Government that is also supposed to stand up for the people of Scotland does not do so.
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.
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.
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.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
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.
