Question reference: S6W-25287
- Asked by: Maurice Golden, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 6 February 2024
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Current status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 22 February 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with the UK Government Office for the Internal Market (OIM) regarding the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill, and whether it has asked the OIM if the proposals in the Bill for (a) restricting the disposal of unsold goods and (b) charges for single-use items could affect the UK internal market.
Answer
In my letter of 18 January 2024 to the Convener of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport committee (see at this link Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity (parliament.scot) ), I confirmed that Scottish Government officials regularly meet with the Office for the Internal Market (OIM) to discuss a range of issues related to its functions, including horizon scanning of potential legislation across the UK. These discussions are open dialogues where either party can raise any issue for discussion. They can involve high level intelligence sharing, as well as more detailed discussions of specific policy areas.
To date, there has not been a specific discussion on the proposed provisions of the Scottish Circular Economy Bill as part of this engagement. Wider circular economy issues such as deposit return schemes and single-use plastics policies across UK nations have been discussed.