General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 12 December 2024.
Emma Harper
Scottish National Party
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to people who are going through family court proceedings. (S6O-04105)
Siobhian Brown
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government provides funding to a range of voluntary sector bodies that can provide support in relation to family disputes. Support might also be available through the legal aid system.
Emma Harper
Scottish National Party
I have been working with a family in Wigtownshire who are in the same position as many others, in that a contact order was given by a sheriff for a father to have contact with his son months ago, but that order is still not being complied with. The Minister will know that I have corresponded with her on the issue, but will she agree to meet me to explore whether a change could be made to the law that would compel a party to comply with a court order in a Scottish family court as in criminal cases?
Siobhian Brown
Scottish National Party
Delay in child contact proceedings is not in the child’s best interests, and I recognise the negative effect that non-compliance with contact orders can have on a child. If a person believes that an order has not been obeyed, they can go back to the court and ask for it to be varied, or they can ask for the person who did not obey the order to be held in contempt of court.
New case-management rules for family actions in the sheriff court came into effect in September last year, which are intended to help to prevent undue delay in proceedings relating to the welfare of children. I would be very happy to meet Ms Harper to discuss the matter further.
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.
