Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at 5:40 pm on 10 December 2025.
Liam McArthur
Liberal Democrat
5:40,
10 December 2025
The Minister will be aware of the relatively high take-up of agri-environment measures in Orkney. However, the fact that those cannot be counted as part of the EFAs potentially penalises early adopters of environmental measures. Does he accept those concerns, as well as the concerns that have been expressed about the scaling up of those measures in future and the implications that they could have, particularly on smaller farm businesses in island areas?
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.
