Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 20 November 2024.
Alexander Stewart
Conservative
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the latest “Scottish Economic Bulletin”. (S6O-03975)
Tom Arthur
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government welcomes the recent publication of the economic bulletin. It clearly shows the resilience of the Scottish economy, with unemployment remaining low and inflation stabilising around its 2 per cent target. Economic growth is set to improve as we go into 2025, but business conditions remain challenging. The Scottish Government is listening to businesses and will keep working with them to help to create a mutually beneficial environment that supports a fair, green and growing economy.
Alexander Stewart
Conservative
The latest statistics show that Scotland’s economy grew by just 0.1 per cent in the past few months to August and that the service sector experienced completely flat growth during that period. What action is the Scottish Government taking to attract inward investment, to ensure that Scottish service businesses are in an environment that enables them to thrive and survive?
Tom Arthur
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to attracting inward investment. As the investment Minister, I attended an investment event in London a few weeks ago, and the Deputy First Minister has just returned from meeting investors in London. We are absolutely committed to doing that.
We recognise that, in the lead-up to the United Kingdom Government budget and subsequent announcements, a degree of uncertainty has been created. It seems that that is impacting on demand, which is reflected in economic figures across the UK. However, we are committed to ensuring that Scotland remains an attractive destination for investment and to working collaboratively in partnership to achieve that.
Colin Beattie
Scottish National Party
I welcome the bulletin’s highlighting of the current strength of Scotland’s labour market, with recently published labour statistics showing that Scotland has a lower unemployment rate than the rest of the UK has, along with stand-out growth in employment. What assessment has the Minister made of that news, and how can we build on that success to strengthen Scotland’s economy with the limited economic powers that the Scottish Government holds?
Tom Arthur
Scottish National Party
Scotland’s labour market is resilient and performs well on a range of indicators. Payrolled employment is high, and Scotland has a narrower gender pay gap than the UK has. Growing the economy is a top priority for this Government. As I said earlier, I was pleased to be in London recently to speak with investors about the benefits of Scotland’s economy, and the Deputy First Minister also did so at the start of this week.
Our green industrial strategy and the work of the Scottish National Investment Bank and our enterprise agencies are key to securing further growth in investment, which will, in turn, benefit all of our communities.
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.
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.
