– in the Scottish Parliament on 2 October 2025.
I begin by noting the horrific attack on the Jewish community in Manchester this morning. I send our very best wishes to all those who have been affected. Disposable income is what...
I am horrified by the news that is coming out of Manchester today. Like others, my thoughts are with all those who are affected and the wider Jewish community. Yom Kippur should be a time of...
The Scottish Greens and I, like colleagues from across the chamber, send our thoughts, prayers, love and solidarity to the victims of the attack on Heaton Park synagogue and to the whole Jewish...
To ask the First Minister, regarding the potential impact on marginalised communities and public services in Scotland, what the Scottish Government’s response is to UK Government proposals...
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s position is on whether NHS Tayside should exempt legal claims by former patients of Professor Sam Eljamel from the three-year time...
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reported comments from the chair of the British Medical Association in Scotland, that Scotland’s NHS is...
The Parliament will know that 4 October is world ostomy day. Ostomates will know that, although a bag may be needed for life, it gives them back their life. In 2023, with the support...
The First Minister will be aware of reports this week that new information has emerged in the case of Moira Anderson, who disappeared in Coatbridge in 1957, aged just 11. It is reported that the...
The First Minister has already addressed the question of what happened last night, when the global sumud flotilla was illegally intercepted by Israeli forces. There are four Scots in the...
New figures from Energy Action Scotland show that energy debt has soared to a record £4.4 billion in just four years, with vulnerable Scots burdened with £400 million of that. It is a...
The visitor levy came into effect in Edinburgh yesterday, yet the final guidance for businesses was published only last week. The owner of Linwater caravan park has contacted me, stating that ...
This week, hundreds of staff left the University of Dundee, ending countless years of collective service. Their loss is keenly felt by their colleagues and students, and results from a crisis for...
I warmly welcome the Scottish Government’s work to respond to the immediate priorities of energy businesses in my constituency and across the north-east, with £8.5 million of new...
The 2025 Scottish stroke improvement report shows that, in my region of Mid Scotland and Fife, only 67 per cent of stroke patients in NHS Fife, 53 per cent in NHS Tayside and 40 per cent in NHS...
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.
