Part of General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 9 October 2025.
Maree Todd
Scottish National Party
I assure Liz Smith and the Parliament as a whole that we meet sports governing bodies regularly and we recognise the challenging situation that they are facing, which is, frankly, worsened by some of the decisions that have been made at Westminster, such as those on employer national insurance contributions, which have added strain to a sector that, as Liz Smith acknowledges, was already in difficulty.
It remains our ambition to double that budget. We have one more Scottish Government budget to go before the end of this parliamentary session. I am very hopeful that, unlike last year, the Scottish Conservatives—who did not previously find it possible to vote for the investment in sport of nearly £50 million—will find it in their hearts not just to support the budget and maintain that investment but to negotiate to increase it. That would be great.
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 Conservatives are a centre-right political party in the UK, founded in the 1830s. They are also known as the Tory party.
With a lower-case ‘c’, ‘conservative’ is an adjective which implies a dislike of change, and a preference for traditional values.
