Chamber and committees

Figures suggest that, in Scotland, we use more than double the sustainable limit of materials. To tackle the climate crisis, we must tackle overconsumption and create a circular economy where materials are valued and can be cycled around for as long as possible. However, the current Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill does not go far enough to do that and it seems more like a recycling bill than a full circular economy bill. It does not provide a thorough enough framework for action and it does not provide for the aims to be successfully implemented, monitored and evaluated across all areas of a circular economy to ensure that Scotland meets important climate targets.

More emphasis is needed on opportunities for carbon-based consumption reduction targets and ambitious interim targets to be implemented and measured so that we can ensure that the bill meets its purpose in tackling climate change. More attention must also be given to how implementation of the bill will work with third parties, including local businesses and local authorities.

If we have learned anything from the deposit return scheme debacle, it is that the Scottish Government must create thorough, actionable policies that have been thought out in partnership with businesses and local authorities and that do not place significant bureaucratic burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises. Some sectors have already been able to take steps to reuse materials, and the Scottish Government should build on that by helping local businesses to improve their reuse and recycling processes.

The Scottish Government will need to work alongside and properly resource local authorities. Instead, so far, there has been a significant underestimation of the funding that will be needed to enable our local authorities to deliver a circular economy, which has left them with yet another funding crisis that they will have to precariously juggle.

It is important that the bill recognises and prioritises a climate justice approach. Research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts a worrying future, with a rise in the number of migrants who will be displaced because of climate effects. The bill should provide a stable circular economy that supports climate refugees, not an economy that contributes to the problems that cause people to be displaced from their home countries.

We must build a strong, skilled and engaged workforce. The introduction of a circular economy skills passport could result in people being upskilled to work in the reuse and repair sector and could support access to sustainable economic opportunities.

To achieve climate justice through the bill, there must be monitoring of, and accountability for, exported materials to ensure that Scotland does not simply move its waste to other countries and shift the climate burden in its mission to meet its own waste targets.

The bill will not change public behaviour overnight. We need more investment in charity projects that will change behaviour and facilitate the cultural shift that is needed to support a circular economy by helping people to acquire more sustainable lifestyles through awareness of the need to reduce, reuse and repair.

I recently co-sponsored with Maggie Chapman a circular economy showcase fashion show outside the Scottish Parliament. The event was a collaborative initiative between Friends of the Earth Scotland, Plastic Free Communities Scotland, Edinburgh street stitchers, Shrub Coop, Reset Scenery, the Marine Conservation Society, Circular Communities Scotland and the Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council, which I chair—I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. The showcase demonstrated how we could transform how we view and use materials, and it exposed the potential for a circular economy if the bill provides a sufficient structural and cultural basis for change.

Working towards a circular economy is the right direction to go in, but we cannot have a half-hearted attempt with ill-thought-out implementation mechanisms, weak and hollowed-out targets, poor monitoring of effectiveness and a lack of support for industry and local authorities. As the bill progresses through the Parliament, Scottish Labour is committed to ensuring that it is properly scrutinised and made as robust as possible in order that Scotland’s commitment to climate action is progressed and a more sustainable planet can be built for all.

I recently met the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, which outlined the dire situation with high rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity in Palestine. Can the minister please advise what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that the aid that Scotland sends is available to reach new and expectant mothers in Gaza?

If our committee writes to Westminster and is ignored, what do we have to do?

I will not pick a fight with my first question. The committee does not regularly comment on the explanatory notes that accompany instruments, but we are interested in knowing more about the process for drafting and checking those notes. Can you or your officials set that out in detail for us?

Yes.

When delegated powers that are exercisable within devolved competence are not mentioned in an LCM, does that mean that the Scottish Government is content with the UK Government’s proposal to take those powers? We ask that question in the context of recently considering the LCM for the UK Parliament’s Criminal Justice Bill, which did not mention ancillary or commencement powers that conferred powers on UK ministers in the devolved areas.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My app was not working, either. I would have voted yes.

Closing the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers is paramount in tackling child poverty. Encouraging and supporting parents into employment is a crucial way to ensure that children are lifted above the poverty line. The Scottish Government has paid that far too little attention in recent years, as Carol Mochan rightly pointed out.

The consultation process for this inquiry found that many individuals see childcare as the most important factor in securing a well-paid job. As Miles Briggs said, finding affordable and flexible childcare is the biggest obstacle that many parents face in seeking employment or returning to work. That disproportionately affects single parents, who continue to struggle to find good-quality employment that allows them to juggle childcare responsibilities. In the statistics, we see a gender disparity once again, as women are much more likely to be primary caregivers, and account for 91 per cent of single parents in Scotland.

The expense of childcare can be incredibly high. Meghan Gallacher pointed out that it can be up to £1,000 per child a month. That means that a big percentage of a single mother’s salary needs to be dedicated to funding childcare if they wish to remain in employment. The current 1,140 hours of funded childcare cover only the duration of an average school day. That means that single parents—who are often women—are limited in the hours that they can seek in employment. That often leads to single mothers being stuck in a pattern of working in part-time jobs.

As my colleague Paul O’Kane pointed out, in the latest budget, the Scottish Government cancelled a promised £53 million in funding for employability schemes and scrapped the parental transition fund entirely. Parents need to have ample opportunity to seek out a decent wage in addition to having adequate childcare options. Scottish Labour is committed to improved access to early years childcare. The Scottish Government has to be transparent about whether it intends to make additional resources available. As the inquiry points out, the programme for government does not set out what funding will be available to meet the new childcare commitments. A detailed spending plan is needed to show how it aims to achieve that, with relevant timescales.

It is clear that the labour market in Scotland is not working for everyone. Marie McNair rightly pointed out the barriers to parents accessing fair work. The Poverty Alliance has emphasised that more than two-thirds of children in poverty live in households where someone is in paid work. Access to fair work is crucial. One way that we can achieve that is by ensuring that parents from disadvantaged backgrounds have the same opportunities in the labour market as their peers. Labour’s new deal for working people will tackle the scourge of in-work poverty by making work pay and supporting parents’ progress in work.

Scottish Labour understands that only by delivering secure jobs and fair pay can we drive down poverty in Scotland for good. The committee’s inquiry highlighted the importance of good-quality flexible work as a route out of poverty. That needs to be done in conjunction with targeted support for those who are not able to work.

The repercussions and consequences of a childhood below the poverty line can be long lasting. It can have an impact on both physical and mental health, and so create strain on our already overworked national health service. It can also affect education and children’s ability to learn and develop, and significantly reduce their life opportunities and experiences. That is why Scottish Labour welcomes the recommendations in the Social Justice and Social Security Committee’s report. Tackling child poverty was outlined as the Scottish Government’s national mission. Let us now see that mission being acted on.

Lammermuir Festival had its funding application turned down by Creative Scotland last year. The grant application was set to make up 23 per cent of the festival’s budget, and its future now hangs in the balance—yet £85,000 is being awarded to this explicit project. What specific measures are in place to monitor and regulate how and why funding is awarded by Creative Scotland and how it ensures that culture remains accessible for all?

I think that we should write to the British Menopause Society seeking its advice.