First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 2 October 2025.
Audrey Nicoll
Scottish National Party
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 funding for clean energy careers. It is vital that we continue to support the communities that, through oil and gas, provided energy security for generations and that, as the country accelerates towards a clean energy future, we ensure that those communities remain at the centre of Scotland’s energy future. Will the First Minister say more about the steps that the Scottish Government is taking to support jobs and skills in the north-east, particularly in the face of Labour’s challenging fiscal regime?
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
I welcome the investments that the Government has made in this policy area. On Monday, I had the pleasure of opening the energy transition skills hub in the city of Aberdeen, which is the result of £4.5 million of investment from our just transition fund and an excellent collaboration involving North East Scotland College, ETZ Ltd and Shell UK, which have been significant partners in bringing about that development. That is one example of the steps that have been taken, and it was a pleasure to see Audrey Nicoll at the event on Monday in Aberdeen.
On the energy profits levy, I have made it crystal clear to the Parliament that I think that the levy has gone on for far too long and is set at too high a level. That is an issue that the United Kingdom Government must address, and I hope that it does so.
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.
In a general election, each Constituency chooses an MP to represent them. MPs have a responsibility to represnt the views of the Constituency in the House of Commons. There are 650 Constituencies, and thus 650 MPs. A citizen of a Constituency is known as a Constituent
