General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 9 October 2025.
Ariane Burgess
Green
To ask the Scottish Government what scoping work it has undertaken regarding dualling and electrifying the Highland main line. (S6O-05043)
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Network Rail, instructed by Transport Scotland, has investigated options to electrify the Highland main line. That work contributed to developing our plans to replace ScotRail’s intercity fleet, which I announced to Parliament in December 2024.
As I said in the debate that the member led last week, we are firmly committed to electrifying our railways. Projects that are already delivered or under way, such as those for Edinburgh to Glasgow, Barrhead and East Kilbride, and our recently announced plans for the phased electrification of the Fife and Borders routes, are evidence of that commitment.
A refreshed rail decarbonisation action plan will be published during this parliamentary session, which will specify how we are going to achieve phased decarbonisation of our rail network by 2045.
I appreciate that there are potential improvements to be secured by dualling the Highland main line, but no active projects for that are under way.
Ariane Burgess
Green
My interest is in the Highland main line in particular. As long as 17 years ago, the Scottish Government promised rail passengers that it would cut journey times between Inverness and Perth by half an hour. In the intervening 17 years, just four minutes have been saved on that route, because the Government has not prioritised rail in its spending. What will the Cabinet secretary do to fulfil the promise that has been broken and provide speedy, reliable rail for people in the Highlands?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
I think that the member is incorrect. Rail constitutes the vast bulk of my budget, compared with other modes of transport. Rail is funded with more than £1.5 billion a year, and trunk roads and their issues receive about £1 billion, so it is incorrect to characterise the Scottish Government’s funding in that way. The extensive announcements that I have made on procurement and electrification have been welcomed, particularly in the Borders and Fife, and they are testament to our commitment to rail.
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 cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
