Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 10 September 2025.
Miles Briggs
Conservative
To ask the Scottish Government at what stage the current funding application is for the Edinburgh biomes project at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. (S6O-04904)
Mairi Gougeon
Scottish National Party
The Scottish Government has already committed £58 million to the Edinburgh biomes programme over the past five years, to the end of 2025-26. We will continue to play an important role in supporting the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh as it moves forward with delivery of the programme, within overall budget constraints across the public sector. The process to determine capital funding provision for future years is under way, and regular discussions with the botanic garden continues, to ensure that it is fully engaged with that process.
Miles Briggs
Conservative
The Cabinet secretary will be aware of the risk to that globally important living collection of plants if the heating system were to fail, which reinforces the importance of delivering the project. The uncertainty of funding each financial year makes planning the project even more challenging. What assurance can the cabinet secretary give the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh that it will receive the necessary funding to complete the project? Will she agree to visit the site with me and other Edinburgh MSPs to see the global importance of the project?
Mairi Gougeon
Scottish National Party
I am more than happy to commit to that meeting. I absolutely agree with Miles Briggs on the overall importance of the project.
I emphasise, and offer assurance, that our officials are in regular discussion about the matter with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. We have already provided quite a lot of flexibility in relation to spend and attempts to reprofile that, in recognition of challenges that could not have been foreseen when the project was first initiated.
We all want to see the project be a success. A refreshed business case is being worked on, which will feed into the budget processes. I am more than happy to continue the discussion and undertake that visit.
Foysol Choudhury
Labour
How exactly does the Scottish Government plan to protect vital carbon mitigation research at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the interim period while the biomes project secures funding?
Mairi Gougeon
Scottish National Party
I would like to say how much we value the work that the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh undertakes through its research and in relation to its collections. I hope that I have emphasised that so far. That is why we work so closely with it, and particularly through the difficult budget situation that we are all facing at the moment. We all want to work to support the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, which is certainly what I am committed to doing.
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.
