Part of Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 12 June 2024.
Tom Arthur
Scottish National Party
As Scotland continues to face a cost of living crisis, the current high levels of inflation, although they are coming down, have disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable in society and have heaped more pressure on our public services. The Scottish Government recognises the pressure on household budgets, which is why, since 2022-23, we have continued to allocate around £3 billion a year to policies that help to tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible during the cost of living crisis.
We have consistently called on the United Kingdom Government to provide additional support to help people with the cost of living crisis, but the Chancellor of the exchequer has failed to deploy the full range of powers that are available to him to make the difference that would be required.
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 chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
