General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 23 January 2025.
Finlay Carson
Conservative
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to improve road safety on key routes. (S6O-04238)
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
This year, as part of a £1.1 billion investment in maintaining and improving Scotland’s road network, the Scottish Government is investing a record £36 million in road safety initiatives across key routes. That includes £7.5 million of investment in the safety camera programme to ensure the continued deployment of safety cameras across Scotland, including on the A75 and A77. To maximise the impact of that technology, an annual site prioritisation exercise is undertaken each year, and as part of the process, consideration is being given to a change in the enforcement strategy on the A75.
In addition to those considerations, a range of engineering improvements is programmed on key routes in the south-west of Scotland. That includes the signalisation of the Cuckoo Bridge roundabout on the A75 and of the A77 Doonholm road junction.
Finlay Carson
Conservative
Nobody in the village of Crocketford will ever forget the carnage that was caused by a horrid accident involving two speeding heavy goods vehicles in November 2022. The communities of Crocketford and Springholm face the dangers of cars and HGVs speeding only feet from their doors. Although work is due to begin in March on speed management plans in Crocketford—something that I have been pressing long and hard for—that is simply a sticking plaster.
During his visit last December, the First Minister agreed that Transport Scotland will consider the case for overhead average speed cameras along the length of the A75 and within those vulnerable villages. Will the Cabinet secretary update us on when we can expect to hear the findings of that consideration, given that safety cameras are ineffective at addressing the problem that we have with the A75?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Work is under way, as I said in my previous answer, to consider the possibility of deploying average speed cameras on the A75. The outcome of that process will be identified through the conclusions that flow from the annual safety camera site prioritisation exercise. It is under way and Police Scotland’s west safety camera unit is considering a change to the enforcement strategy. When we have those results from Police Scotland, I will be more than happy to relay them to the member, as the First Minister communicated in his visit in December.
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 cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
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.
