– in the Scottish Parliament on 23 January 2025.
Last week, Scotland’s nurses issued a desperate and urgent warning about our broken national health service. Patients in extreme pain are stripped of their dignity and left for hours in...
Our national health service and social care system is in permanent crisis under the Scottish National Party. One route to solving the crisis lies in tackling delayed discharge, where a patient is...
Buses in Scotland are too expensive. We see fare hikes every year, with passengers across the country having to fork out even more cash to get on board. As part of this year’s budget...
To ask the First Minister, in light of the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President, and the reported prospect of import tariffs, what sectors of Scottish business it anticipates may be most...
To ask the First Minister what steps the Scottish Government is taking to address concerns regarding waiting times in A and E departments, following reports of a mother having to wait 50 hours...
To ask the First Minister whether the Scottish Government plans to make creating sexually explicit “deepfake” images and videos a crime. (S6F-03730)
Does the First Minister share my concern about the news that Brymor, the owner of the uniquely Dumfries and Galloway brand, Cream o’ Galloway, is planning to move manufacturing of the brand...
It has been reported that the former Pinneys site in Annan has been broken into 12 times in the past year, and the factory has been ransacked. It is coming up for seven years since the...
In the United Kingdom, around 3,200 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, with more than 800 of those losing their lives. This week marks cervical cancer prevention week, which is a...
The First Minister will be aware of the eye-watering increases in haulage costs for perishable food to businesses in Uist. In some cases, prices have increased by 120 per cent, stopping some food...
The First Minister might be aware that BNY Mellon has announced the closure of its Edinburgh office, signalling the loss of around 400 jobs for the Lothian region. Has the First Minister had any...
As we progress on our journey to net zero, it is absolutely vital that we recognise and retain the considerable skills of oil and gas workers, who will continue to play an incredibly important...
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am a member of the GMB union. In October last year, I raised with the First Minister the...
I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests, which shows that I am a farmer. The First Minister might have heard this week of a very unhelpful change by...
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.
