Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 10 December 2025.
Jackie Dunbar
Scottish National Party
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting Aberdeen City Council to maintain its local government services, including in response to any increasing social need in the city. (S6O-05269)
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
The 2025-26 budget delivered record funding of more than £15.1 billion for local government, which was a real-terms increase of 5.5 per cent. As part of the record funding package for local government, Aberdeen City Council will receive £505.1 million to support day-to-day services, which equates to an extra £37.5 million or an additional 8 per cent compared to 2024-25.
Jackie Dunbar
Scottish National Party
Aberdeen Cyrenians, which is a charity that supports people across Aberdeen who are facing poverty and homelessness, has warned that reforming the energy profits levy
“is not just an economic imperative, it’s a moral one”,
which is needed to prevent a “spiral of decline” and social harm in the city that no amount of welfare spending can reverse. Does the Cabinet secretary share my concerns about the impact of Labour’s fiscal policies on local communities in my Constituency? Will she say any more about the Scottish Government’s work with local authorities to mitigate that impact?
Shona Robison
Scottish National Party
I share Jackie Dunbar’s concern that the retention of the reserved energy profits levy risks further consequences for jobs and investment across Scotland’s energy sector over the coming weeks, months and years. I assure her that the Scottish Government will continue to do what it can with the powers that are available to us, working alongside partners such as local authorities and trade unions, to support the energy workforce. Through our just transition fund and the energy transition fund, more than £120 million has already been invested in the north-east to support the region’s transition to net zero.
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.
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
