Part of Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 12:51 pm on 23 January 2025.
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
12:51,
23 January 2025
Carer support payment has been designed to largely mirror carers allowance to protect carers in Scotland by providing them with a safe and secure transfer of benefits. We have worked closely with the DWP and other United Kingdom Government departments to ensure that our benefit interacts with wider support in the same way that carers allowance does, so that carers can continue to get the support that they previously relied on.
When we introduce new extra support, such as the carers allowance supplement and the carers additional person payment, which we intend to introduce in the future, our fiscal framework agreement with the UK Government ensures that that extra support will not lead to reductions in other benefits.
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.
