First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am 5:08 pm ar 31 Hydref 2024.
Rhoda Grant
Llafur
5:08,
31 Hydref 2024
At the weekend, the Loganair chief executive said that the flight from Stornoway to Inverness is “difficult to sustain”. That flight is a lifeline service for people who need to access healthcare services that are not available locally. We have already seen patients no longer accepting treatment due to the downgrading of the Uist flights. That would also happen if the Stornoway to Inverness flight were to stop or become less accessible.
I appealed to Scottish ministers to find a solution to the situation with the Uist flight, but nothing has changed. Therefore, I ask the First Minister to intervene personally to ensure that the Uist flights are fit for purpose and to protect all those flights with a public service order. If he does not, lives will be lost.
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
Some weeks ago, I had a discussion in Stornoway with an organisation that provides support and care to patients who require access to cancer treatment—the name is not at the front of my mind just now—about the substantive challenges that Rhoda Grant has raised with me regarding the practicalities of accessing hospital treatment from the islands when a sustained period of care is required.
I give Rhoda Grant the assurance that the health secretary and the transport ministers are looking closely at the situation to ensure that we are providing all the support that we can so that individuals who require to access healthcare needs are able to do so, regardless of their location.
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.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
