Part of Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 12 November 2025.
Murdo Fraser
Conservative
I declare an interest as a member of the Church of Scotland. That said, I share the concern about the speed with which the Kirk is disposing of so many properties that have been at the heart of their communities—for centuries, in some cases—and to which many people have a strong emotional connection.
I am certainly aware of community groups across my region that are interested in acquiring historic church buildings, but need time to put together a business case and raise the funds, and are concerned about the speed with which the Church of Scotland is putting those properties on the market. Those groups are worried that they will not get that opportunity, because a delay has not been built into the process. I therefore encourage the Cabinet secretary, if he is engaging with the Church of Scotland, to encourage it not to force the process along too quickly and to allow any community interest that expresses a view that they might want to purchase a property the time to put together a business case so that those assets are not lost to the communities that they serve.
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.
