Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 12:48 pm on 19 December 2024.
Willie Coffey
Scottish National Party
12:48,
19 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of any benefits of the Scottish welfare fund for constituents in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley. (S6O-04148)
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
The Scottish welfare fund provides an essential source of crisis support and helps people with independent living in Scotland. Last year, people in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley benefited from nearly 1,800 community care grants, totalling more than £765,000, and almost 3,500 crisis grants, with a value of more than £168,000.
Those living in Mr Coffey’s Constituency will also benefit from the additional funding for East Ayrshire Council from the recently announced £20 million investment in the fund. That is on top of the £1.1 million funding that has already been provided by the Scottish Government for the council this year.
Willie Coffey
Scottish National Party
In 2023-24, more than £1.3 million of Scottish welfare fund support came to East Ayrshire alone, benefiting my constituents during the worst of the cost of living crisis. What role is the welfare fund due to play in the year ahead in the Scottish Government’s priority mission to eradicate child poverty?
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
Mr Coffey is right to point out the Scottish welfare fund’s important role in our benefits and support system. It is a key priority for the Scottish Government to continue that essential source of support for those who are in crisis.
We must also do what we can to continue to press the United Kingdom Government to take the actions at source, such as an essentials guarantee, which would lift people out of poverty, cure the systemic challenge of the inadequacy of UK Government benefits and, therefore, ensure that the Scottish Government has more flexibility in how we use the Scottish welfare fund to support more people.
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
