– in the Scottish Parliament on 20 June 2024.
The oil and gas sector is vital for the north-east and for the whole of Scotland. The Rosebank energy development will create 1,600 jobs and will bring £6 billion of investment to the...
Our national health service faces a national crisis in what is known as corridor care, where patients are treated on trolleys in corridors because there are simply not enough beds in wards for...
In precisely that vein, the First Minister tried this week to present the Scottish National Party as the only party that is committed to ending the cuts and reversing austerity. Apart from...
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on the call from the Federation of Small Businesses Scotland for the next United Kingdom Administration to pilot a...
To ask the First Minister what his response is to the reported comment from the Nuclear Industry Association that his stance on nuclear power is “hopelessly ideological and...
To ask the First Minister what assurances the Scottish Government can provide to the arts and culture sector to ensure confidence, in light of the reported issues with the sponsorship of cultural...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care is aware of the concerns about cuts to the services of general practitioner practices in Penicuik, which the practices state are due in part to...
The Scottish National Party awarded funding to River Garden, a rehabilitation centre in Auchincruive, to help 56 people recover from drug addiction, but that funding has been paused. Those...
Across Scotland, national health service and social care partnerships are facing a combined budget gap of almost £1.4 billion, which means that there will be severe cuts to social care...
Analysis by the Nuffield Trust has indicated that both Labour’s and the Tories’ plans for the national health service would leave the health service with lower spending increases than...
Last week, The Courier reported: “A new parole hearing date has been confirmed for Angus killer Tasmin Glass as she seeks release from prison after serving...
A constituent in Lothian has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and has been told that his tumour is growing. He is on an eight-month waiting list for surgery and has no idea when treatment will...
The latest purchasing managers index report from the Royal Bank of Scotland has shown that Scotland was a stand-out performer among the United Kingdom nations and regions last month, with private...
The First Minister has said that his biggest priority in government is to eradicate child poverty, yet, this morning, Scottish National Party and Green councillors in Glasgow voted to cut the...
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.
