Part of Urgent Question – in the Scottish Parliament at 4:43 pm on 2 October 2025.
Keith Brown
Scottish National Party
4:43,
2 October 2025
I am delighted that some Conservative members have managed to stay in the chamber instead of running away in terror when I raise a point.
First, does the Minister, like me, find it surprising that Audit Scotland’s report makes little mention of the impact of rising national insurance contributions—in the case of Forth Valley College, it is £600,000 a year straight on to the wage bill—the cost of living crisis or the continuing effects of Brexit? To what extent is he able to factor into the Government’s assessment of the financial sustainability of our colleges those extraneous but burdensome factors?
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.
