General Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 2 October 2025.
Maurice Golden
Conservative
To ask the Scottish Government what the current state of readiness is for the upcoming ban on biodegradable municipal waste to landfill. (S6O-05011)
Gillian Martin
Scottish National Party
The forthcoming ban on biodegradable waste to landfill is a crucial part of delivering Scotland’s net zero ambitions. The waste sector has already made significant preparations, including by making significant investment in Scotland’s infrastructure for energy from waste. As such, the amount of Scottish waste that was landfilled in 2023 was the lowest on record. The vast Majority of councils have indicated readiness for the ban, and the remainder are progressing arrangements towards compliance. However, I am aware of the challenges that are faced by some in the sector, notably waste small and medium-sized enterprises. We are working with partners to support their readiness for the ban and to reduce any environmental impacts.
Maurice Golden
Conservative
The landfill ban assurance study refers to external markets helping to manage any capacity shortfall from 2026. Will the Cabinet secretary outline what those markets are and, if she is in a position to do so, outline when we will know where the waste will be sent to?
Gillian Martin
Scottish National Party
My plan is to have as much waste as possible, particularly biodegradable waste, dealt with in Scotland, in readiness. I note that there has been some media reporting on the potential for waste to go to England. I do not want that, and the First Minister has been very clear in the chamber that that will not happen.
I have had detailed discussions with representatives of the waste sector, who have been extremely helpful and constructive in their approach and are working with me, my Scottish Government teams and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on a range of solutions for the issues that SMEs in the waste sector face. I cannot divulge those solutions at the moment, because they are still being fully agreed, but I hope to be able to let members and the Parliament know about them in the next few weeks.
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 term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
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.
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.
