Chamber and committees

No, thank you.

Motion agreed to.

I will simply move the motion.

I move,

That the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee recommends that the Equality Act 2010 (Specification of Public Authorities) (Scotland) Order 2025 [draft] be approved.

No, thank you.

Motion agreed to.

Thank you. I am pleased to speak in support of two draft instruments that were laid before the Parliament last month. The instruments are technical in nature but are nonetheless important measures that reinforce our commitment to equality and inclusion across Scotland’s public sector. They will ensure that Zero Waste Scotland, following its transition to a non-departmental public body in October last year, will be subject to the same statutory equality obligations as other public authorities.

The schedule to the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 applied the majority of public sector duties to Zero Waste Scotland, such as those in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc (Scotland) Act 2003. However, making Zero Waste Scotland subject to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010, and the related duties under the 2025 regulations, must be done separately by way of an SSI, given the terms of the 2010 act.

The draft Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 formally designate Zero Waste Scotland as a listed authority under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. That means that the organisation must now comply with the public sector equality duty, which requires public bodies to consider how their policies and practices affect people with protected characteristics. The duty is central to promoting fairness, dignity and inclusion in the delivery of public services.

The draft Equality Act 2010 (Specification of Public Authorities) (Scotland) Order 2025 applies to Zero Waste Scotland the specific duties that are set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (SSI 2012/162). The duties are designed to support public authorities in meeting the public sector equality duty in a transparent and accountable way. That includes the collection and publication of workforce diversity data; the setting of equality outcomes; and regular reporting on progress against those outcomes.

The measures are not only about compliance; they are about embedding equality into the culture and operations of public bodies. They help to ensure that decisions are informed by evidence, that services are responsive to the needs of all communities and that public bodies are held to account for their performance on equality.

Zero Waste Scotland, which employs around 160 staff, plays a central role in delivering Scotland’s circular economy strategy. In doing so, it is helping to reduce waste, promote resource efficiency and drive sustainable economic growth by keeping materials in use for as long as possible. It will be an integral part of the Scottish Government’s aim to reach net zero by 2045. It is right, therefore, that we extend the duties to the organisation, which will strengthen our objective to ensure that our public services are representative of the people of Scotland.

I recommend the two instruments to the committee and to the Parliament as necessary and proportionate steps to uphold equality standards across Scotland’s public sector.

I will simply move the motion—I think that I have said enough.

I move,

That the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee recommends that the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 [draft] be approved.

Thank you. I am pleased to speak in support of two draft instruments that were laid before the Parliament last month. The instruments are technical in nature but are nonetheless important measures that reinforce our commitment to equality and inclusion across Scotland’s public sector. They will ensure that Zero Waste Scotland, following its transition to a non-departmental public body in October last year, will be subject to the same statutory equality obligations as other public authorities.

The schedule to the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 applied the majority of public sector duties to Zero Waste Scotland, such as those in the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and the Public Appointments and Public Bodies etc (Scotland) Act 2003. However, making Zero Waste Scotland subject to the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010, and the related duties under the 2025 regulations, must be done separately by way of an SSI, given the terms of the 2010 act.

The draft Equality Act 2010 (Specification of Public Authorities) (Scotland) Order 2025 formally designates Zero Waste Scotland as a listed authority under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. That means that the organisation must now comply with the public sector equality duty, which requires public bodies to consider how their policies and practices affect people with protected characteristics. The duty is central to promoting fairness, dignity and inclusion in the delivery of public services.

The draft Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 apply to Zero Waste Scotland the specific duties that are set out in the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (SSI 2012/162). The duties are designed to support public authorities in meeting the public sector equality duty in a transparent and accountable way. That includes the collection and publication of workforce diversity data; the setting of equality outcomes; and regular reporting on progress against those outcomes.

The measures are not only about compliance; they are about embedding equality into the culture and operations of public bodies. They help to ensure that decisions are informed by evidence, that services are responsive to the needs of all communities and that public bodies are held to account for their performance on equality.

Zero Waste Scotland, which employs around 160 staff, plays a central role in delivering Scotland’s circular economy strategy. In doing so, it is helping to reduce waste, promote resource efficiency and drive sustainable economic growth by keeping materials in use for as long as possible. It will be an integral part of the Scottish Government’s aim to reach net zero by 2045. It is right, therefore, that we extend the duties to the organisation, which will strengthen our objective to ensure that our public services are representative of the people of Scotland.

I recommend the two instruments to the committee and to the Parliament as necessary and proportionate steps to uphold equality standards across Scotland’s public sector.

I would not say that there is a presumption of anything in particular. The way that I would frame it would be to say that conservation of the marine protected areas is the main objective but, where possible, sustainable fishing can be allowed.

It is a useful example. Although you may be saying that we do not want to home in on static gear in particular, it is important that I address some of the points that I heard when you were taking evidence but also talk about how the static gear sector itself has been innovative in this space. First of all, it has already done an awful lot to reduce the bycatch of birds and marine animals associated with its practices, and that will be particularly important as we go forward in looking at the inshore MPAs. I absolutely accept that the sector takes its environmental responsibility very seriously.

The JNCC said that there could still be an impact from static gear operators’ practices, in particular on the corals, which are slow-growing, very vulnerable features. I think that the Aberdeen Fish Producers Organisation mentioned a study that its members had been involved in, I think with the University of St Andrews. The data that they provided backed up what the JNCC was saying, because that study identified an impact as well.

That said, Ms Grant, you are right that, if, in however many years—in a decade, for example—there is more robust evidence and data to suggest that we might allow certain types of gear to be used in areas and that it will not have an impact because the data and the evidence have come forward, of course we would adapt. That is very much the case. Similarly, if the industry came up with an innovation in the gear that it was putting forward or investing in such that there was no contact—I am not a fishing expert—and the pressures that had been identified in the evidence were no longer present, of course that would be a development.

It comes back to the adaptive approach. Again, you said that you did not want to home in on a particular sector but, when we were in the EU, the static gear sector was very involved in the discussions about all of this. Evidence and data change and that is part of the adaptive process. There are a couple of MPAs in which the JNCC advised that there might be long-term potential damage to very vulnerable types of benthic structures, particularly in coral.

Yes. Over the past few years, in particular, we have tried to address the gaps in some of the data coming forward. I mentioned the REM equipment that is now in inshore vessels, but we also have the vessel monitoring systems in the marine directorate. They do not just provide data; they monitor compliance as well. We also have fisheries protection vessels and aircraft, and monitoring associated with that.

This is probably a good chance for me to bring in John Mouat with the detail of some of the work that has been done over the past few years, because we recognise that, with the marine environment, there are data and evidence gaps that need to be filled, and Governments have an important role in making sure that those data gaps are filled.

“As long as” is very important.