Part of Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 10 September 2025.
Tom Arthur
Scottish National Party
I put on the record my sincere thanks to the staff in our national health service CAMHS teams for their hard work. They play a vital role in making that achievement possible. However, we cannot be complacent. I agree with the member that we need to sustain that work and, importantly, ensure that standards are consistent across the country. That can be done only with direct support from the Scottish Government. Through our support framework, we continue to work with boards to meet those targets and ensure that they have robust improvement plans in place. We are also investing directly in a system to ensure that children and young people receive the support that they need, when they need it.
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.
