Foreign and Commonwealth Office written question – answered at on 22 October 2019.
Stephen Gethins
Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on what date he last met the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Culture and External Affairs; and when he next plans to meet her.
Christopher Pincher
Minister of State
Since taking office on 24 July 2019, the Foreign Secretary has not had an opportunity to meet the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Tourism, Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop. There are no meetings currently scheduled. However, in recent months the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has supported a number of visits to promote the Scottish Government's international priorities, such as Cabinet Secretary Fiona Hyslop's recent visit in October to Japan for the Rugby World Cup.
The FCO works in partnership with the Offices of the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the Devolved Administrations, on our international priorities. So far this year our Posts have been involved in over 25 visits from Ministers from the Devolved Administrations.
Yes4 people think so
No1 person thinks not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
