First Minister's Questions are question time sessions held respectively in the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...

, the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

and the

Senedd The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Gove ...

. First Minister's Questions is an opportunity for members of each legislature to question the respective leaders of the devolved nations of the United Kingdom. These sessions are based on the similar Prime Minister's Questions held in the House of Commons. It is usually the most attended event in each legislature by representatives.

Northern Ireland Assembly

In Northern Ireland, Questions to the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister (or simply First Minister's Questions) is taken jointly by the

First Minister and deputy First Minister The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are the joint heads of government of the Northern Ireland Executive and have overall responsibility for the running of the Executive Office. Despite the different titles for the two ...

. This joint approach is part of the

power-sharing Power sharing is a practice in conflict resolution where multiple groups distribute political, military, or economic power among themselves according to agreed rules. It can refer to any formal framework or informal pact that regulates the distri ...

arrangements that underpin the operation of the

and Executive Office. Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) may put questions to the ministers for up to thirty minutes. The questions are tabled in advance by MLAs.

Scottish Parliament

In Scotland, First Minister's Questions (often abbreviated to FMQs) is a weekly question time session held when the

is sitting, during which Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) may question the First Minister. FMQs are held every Thursday at noon and typically last for forty-five minutes. The current format allows the leader of the largest opposition party to ask the First Minister several questions, with subsequent questions from each of the leaders of the second and third largest opposition

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

. Other MSPs present in the

debating chamber A debate chamber is a room for people to discuss and debate. Debate chambers are used in governmental and educational bodies, such as a parliament, congress, city council, or a university, either for formal proceedings or for informal discourse, ...

may ask a single question, at the discretion of the Presiding Officer. The Scottish Liberal Democrats' leader no longer has guaranteed questions in FMQs following the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021, under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The ele ...

as they only won 4 seats, meaning they are no longer considered a parliamentary party and lose the benefits of that title.

Senedd

In Wales, First Minister's Questions is a question time session held weekly in the

that permits Members of the Senedd (MSs) up to forty-five minutes to question the First Minister on issues within the remit of the Welsh Government. The session was initially titled First Secretary's Questions, and was renamed when the position of First Secretary for Wales was renamed to First Minister in 2000.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Northern Ireland Assembly
official site of the

Scottish Parliament
official site of the

Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
official site of the Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament Northern Ireland Assembly Scottish Parliament Senedd

Northern Ireland Assembly

Scottish Parliament

Senedd

See also

References

External links