Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 5 June 2024.
Carol Mochan
Labour
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what role local authorities have in preserving the heritage and culture of the areas that they serve. (S6O-03518)
Angus Robertson
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government’s position is to ensure that local authorities have the freedom to make independent decisions for their own communities.
Local authorities have powers to designate conservation areas, or areas of special architectural or historic interest, under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997. They have planning authority to safeguard local development decisions in their areas in line with the national planning guidance and legislation in respect of historic assets. Local authorities may also develop their own heritage strategies to protect and celebrate heritage in their area.
Carol Mochan
Labour
Local authorities across Scotland, including Scottish National Party-run councils, are being forced to make savings in areas such as libraries, cultural centres and key heritage sites as a result of year-on-year real-terms cuts to their budgets by this Government. If it values the role that local authorities play in preserving the heritage and culture of the areas that they serve, why does the Scottish Government keep passing budgets that deliver brutal cuts to councils, putting heritage and culture sites across the south of Scotland and the rest of the country at risk?
Angus Robertson
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government very much values the role that local authorities play in the provision of culture and heritage. I had the great pleasure of joining the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities in recent weeks in hosting a meeting about this. Is there more that local authorities and the Scottish Government can do within our current budgets? I think that we are all trying our best, but there is no getting away from the fact that we are having to work within the structures of a United Kingdom austerity policy that is being pursued by the Conservative Party and that, sadly, is being emulated by the UK Labour Party.
Clare Adamson
Scottish National Party
Can the Cabinet secretary provide an update regarding the work of the local and national delivery group and how that work can help to increase links between local and national initiatives?
Angus Robertson
Scottish National Party
So far this year, the local and national delivery group has helped to shape the development of a collaborative event that was jointly hosted by the Scottish Government and COSLA. The event was held on 20 May and explored the value of culture in delivering a wealth of local outcomes, with a view to developing partnership working across boundaries at local and national levels. The Scottish Government will work with the local and national delivery group to consider tangible next steps based on the themes raised at the event.
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.
