Scotland round-up: 15 January 2010
15 January 2010 (updated on 22 April 2010)
Parliamentary business relating to Scotland for the week ending 15 January 2010.
Oral questions
- Video: Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland
- Commons Hansard: Questions to the Secretary of State for Scotland
Question Time takes place for an hour Monday to Thursday after prayers. Each government department answers questions according to a rota called the Order of Oral Questions. The questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the government department concerned.
Written questions
- Commons Hansard: Bonus payments to Scotland Office staff
- Commons Hansard: Compensation payments made by Jobcentre Plus
- Commons Hansard: Determining cold weather payments in Orkney and Shetland
In addition to oral questions, MPs and Peers can ask government ministers questions for written answer. These are often used to obtain detailed information about policies and statistics on the activities of government departments.
Early Day Motions
Early Day Motions (EDMs) are formal motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons. However, very few EDMs are actually debated. Instead, they are used for reasons such as publicising the views of individual MPs, drawing attention to specific events or campaigns, and demonstrating the extent of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.
Scottish Affairs Committee
- Video: Evidence session on 'Banking in Scotland'
- Video: Evidence session on 'Scotland and the UK: cooperation and communication between governments'
- Scottish Affairs Committee home page
The Scottish Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Scotland Office including relations with the Scottish Parliament.
Current inquiries being undertaken by the Committee include Banking in Scotland and the Scotland Office White Paper and recommendations of the Calman Commission.