General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament am ar 5 Rhagfyr 2024.
Jackie Dunbar
Scottish National Party
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting NHS Grampian with its winter preparedness. (S6O-04079)
Neil Gray
Scottish National Party
Earlier this year, the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities jointly published a plan setting out how we will address the exceptional pressures that our health and care services face over winter. Building on previous experience, we are supporting local systems, including NHS Grampian, with a comprehensive, whole-system range of effective measures. That includes preventative action such as vaccination programmes; ensuring that people receive the right care in the right place and at the right time through measures such as hospital at home and public messaging campaigns; maximising capacity and capability in the system; and focusing on the wellbeing of our workforce.
Jackie Dunbar
Scottish National Party
Following the critical incident that was declared in NHS Grampian last week, will the Cabinet secretary speak about the actions that the Scottish Government will take to alleviate pressure on accident and emergency services in the winter months and to ensure the most effective possible care for patients?
Neil Gray
Scottish National Party
I again place on record my thanks to the staff in NHS Grampian and other health boards who were involved in responding to the critical incident. I recognise the clear relationship between long waits and overcrowding in A and E and the increased risk of harm, which is why the budget for next year is investing in action on waiting times and will address capacity in primary and social care. Clearly, those things can happen only if members vote for the budget.
We also continue working with health boards and the national centre for sustainable delivery to enhance patient flow at acute sites, improve discharge planning and hospital-at-home services and reduce the conveyance of people from care homes, where that is clinically appropriate. All of that will, in turn, reduce pressures on A and E.
Finally, officials continue to meet regularly with NHS Grampian specifically to discuss the improvement activity that is under way within the board and any challenges that it faces.
Alison Johnstone
Green
That concludes general Question Time.
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.
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.
