Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am 2:00 pm ar 26 Medi 2024.
Marie McNair
Scottish National Party
2:00,
26 Medi 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with ScotRail regarding the operation of a reduced train timetable. (S6O-03765)
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
Transport Scotland holds regular discussions with Scottish Rail Holdings and ScotRail Trains Ltd about a number of issues, including ScotRail’s timetable. I am pleased that, like those in other rail unions, Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen members have voted to accept ScotRail’s pay offer. ScotRail is expected to replace its current temporary timetable as soon as possible.
Marie McNair
Scottish National Party
I know that the Cabinet secretary will share my and my constituents’ relief that the dispute has now been settled and that our train drivers will be getting back to providing passengers with a fuller ScotRail timetable. Will she ensure that ScotRail circulates information about reinstated services as quickly as possible, so that the travelling public are aware of how Scotland’s publicly owned railway will meet their needs?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
I will. Obviously, ScotRail needs to do some initial planning to reintroduce the timetable. I will impress on ScotRail the desire of MSPs to understand that and to be communicated with.
I take the opportunity to remind members that I have written to every single member of the Parliament with information about their region and the new discounted fares that will start from Monday and will benefit their constituents. I ask them to help to publicise that and ScotRail’s communication of the new discounted fares, as well as the new timetable when it is released.
Graham Simpson
Ceidwadwyr
A Transport Focus survey shows that satisfaction with the frequency of ScotRail trains is in the bottom half of levels across the United Kingdom. I hope that that will improve. The Cabinet secretary says that she wants the timetable to be reinstated “as soon as possible”. What does she mean by that? Can she be more specific?
Fiona Hyslop
Scottish National Party
In the next week or so.
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.
