General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am ar 21 Tachwedd 2024.
Lorna Slater
Green
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that City of Edinburgh Council plans to move up to 700 residents living in unlicensed temporary accommodation this winter without suitable alternative accommodation being available. (S6O-03997)
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
Everyone has the right to a safe and suitable home. The Minister for Housing and I have twice met the leader and housing convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and we have pledged to work with the council on its plans to resolve the problem. Scottish Government officials are meeting daily with council officers and all options are urgently being explored to ensure that the affected residents are fully supported and, where necessary, safely rehoused.
Lorna Slater
Green
The situation in Edinburgh shows the overwhelming need for an urgent, human rights-based response to the housing emergency by ministers and local authorities. There must be no dilution of the existing legal protections for people experiencing homelessness. Will the Cabinet secretary work with the local authority, local stakeholders and any public bodies that may have suitable accommodation to find a pragmatic solution to ensure that no one ends up on the streets after 30 November?
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
The Minister for Housing and I were pleased to meet yesterday with Lorna Slater and representatives of charities working in Edinburgh to outline the urgent steps that we are taking, alongside the council, to find a solution. I said at that meeting, and am happy to confirm again today, that we are looking at all the options that the Scottish Government could undertake, and that we will do so in conjunction with stakeholders so that we can be assured that we are aware of the consequences of any proposed change and can base any proposed solutions on data and evidence. I make that commitment again today to Lorna Slater and to those who were at the meeting that we both attended yesterday.
Ben Macpherson
Scottish National Party
I thank the Cabinet secretary for her answers so far and for the collaborative approach that is being taken with the City of Edinburgh Council to address a worrying situation. The situation is partly a product of the housing emergency, which is most acute in the capital. Will the cabinet secretary set out what additional and specific support the Scottish Government is providing to the City of Edinburgh Council, and will she say what share of the £40 million housing acquisition fund is being allocated to Edinburgh?
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
The £40 million housing acquisition fund has, in the main, been targeted at the local authorities facing the greatest pressures. That means that Edinburgh will receive just over £14 million of that £40 million allocation, which it can use both for acquisitions and to bring void properties back into use. The issue of void properties is usually dealt with solely by councils, but the Government has stepped in to give further flexibility. That takes the total amount available for investment in affordable housing in Edinburgh to more than £49 million this year.
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.
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.
