Chamber and committees

The commitment to facilitate the co-production of guidance on community engagement is a key commitment made in response to the incineration review and we are currently considering the best approach and timing for delivering it.

Scottish Government has met with eNGOs and community groups five times since June 2022 to discuss recommendations from the incineration review, including a meeting between myself and the Dovesdale Action Group in September. As part of this meeting, the Group was asked for views on where this work could be particularly valuable in improving the community engagement processes. I would welcome thoughts from all community groups interested in the incineration review.

The Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) regulations 2012 (“the PPC regulations”) require that SEPA make impartial assessments of all PPC Permit applications and make decisions relating to environmental permits in accordance with these regulations. Whilst Scottish Ministers do have the ability to intervene in the PPC process by way of a direction, they would not normally do so in the absence of exceptional circumstances.

The key policy levers available to Scottish Ministers to manage capacity are in planning. We responded to the Review’s recommendation, that no further planning permission for incineration facilities beyond what was already in place should be granted. This was addressed in National Planning Framework 4, which is clear that Scottish Government will not support development proposals for energy-from-waste facilities except under very limited circumstances.

This policy, alongside the development of an indicative cap for the amount of residual waste treatment needed, will serve to limit and gradually reduce Scotland’s incineration capacity. This approach will ensure we have an appropriate treatment capacity to manage our waste today, and that this treatment capacity declines as we move towards our circular economy and carbon reduction goals.

An assessment of current and potential future impacts on Scotland’s native trees from the fungus Curreya pithyophila is ongoing.

In late 2022, reports were received of canker and crown dieback symptoms on Scots pine at various locations across Scotland. Subsequent investigations suggest this is likely to be caused by a symbiotic relationship between a fungus, Curreya pithyophila , and an adelgid called pine woolly adelgid ( Pineus pini ). This association has been observed occasionally in the UK, continental Europe and north America since the 1800s.

In 2023, Scottish Forestry and Scotland’s Plant Health Centre commissioned Forest Research and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to investigate the causes and impacts of the current occurrences in Scotland.

Surveys were conducted over the summer to identify the distribution of the fungal-adelgid association and if factors such as climate or site type influence symptom severity. Samples were collected to understand the complex relationships between Curreya pithyophila , the pine woolly adelgid and secondary fungal pathogens and to understand if infection differs between provenances of Scots pine. The findings will be published next year.

An assessment of current and potential future impacts on Scotland’s native trees from the fungus Curreya pithyophila is ongoing.

In late 2022, reports were received of canker and crown dieback symptoms on Scots pine at various locations across Scotland. Subsequent investigations suggest this is likely to be caused by a symbiotic relationship between a fungus, Curreya pithyophila , and an adelgid called pine woolly adelgid ( Pineus pini ). This association has been observed occasionally in the UK, continental Europe and north America since the 1800s.

In 2023, Scottish Forestry and Scotland’s Plant Health Centre commissioned Forest Research and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to investigate the causes and impacts of the current occurrences in Scotland.

Surveys were conducted over the summer to identify the distribution of the fungal-adelgid association and if factors such as climate or site type influence symptom severity. Samples were collected to understand the complex relationships between Curreya pithyophila , the pine woolly adelgid and secondary fungal pathogens and to understand if infection differs between provenances of Scots pine. The findings will be published next year.

To support future planning decisions, we accepted the review’s recommendation to develop an indicative capacity cap. It is important that any indicative cap is as robust as possible and developing such a cap is a significant piece of work.

For that reason, we are undertaking work to improve the quality of data on waste to support the development of an indicative cap. This includes, working with other governments of the UK to implement mandatory Digital Waste Tracking from April 2025, which will provide a step-change in the quality of Scottish waste data, and engaging with partners, including ZWS and SEPA, to draw together key waste composition, carbon and environmental impact data insights. In addition, the Strategic Research Programme 2022 to 2027, Theme C: Human Impacts on the Environment includes work on the circular economy. As part of this, a mapping exercise of the waste flows in Scotland is being undertaken by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).

Together, these initiatives will provide invaluable data to support the accurate forecasting of Scotland’s waste infrastructure needs and the development of an indicative cap.

Further information on these developments can be found here:

Digital Waste Tracking Consultation Response.

Outcome of the Household Waste Composition Analysis.

Information on the Strategic Research Programme 2022 to 2027.

Our draft Circular Economy and Waste Route Map, due for publication shortly, will set out further detail and associated timescales on the steps we will take to minimise the environmental and climate impacts of waste, including the development of an indicative capacity cap.

The Scottish Government is in regular contact with the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero about the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).

Following the ECT Annual Conference on 20 November 2023, Scottish Government officials contacted the UK Government, seeking an update on their review of UK membership of the ECT. Subsequently, the UK Government has confirmed publicly that it is continuing to review the UK’s membership, and to consider stakeholder views.

The Scottish Government shares many of the concerns raised by experts, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Climate Change Committee, about ECT membership and sees merit in calls for the UK to withdraw. Our position, as set out in our Vision for Trade, is that no part of a trade or investment agreement should limit the ability of the Scottish Parliament to regulate in devolved areas, or constrain much needed action to achieve our net zero goals.

We therefore remain concerned at the lack of a decision on this issue and the prospect of Scotland continuing to remain subject to the provisions of an unreformed Treaty, through the UK’s continued membership.

We have today launched our consultation on the proposed Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill, including the potential role of an Independent Commissioner for Future Generations. The consultation will run until 14 February 2024 and can be accessed at https://consult.gov.scot/national-performance-framework-unit/wellbeing-and-sustainable-development-scotland .

We committed in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 Programmes for Government to explore the development of a Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill, and we are now at the stage of seeking views on how this legislation could best ensure that wellbeing and sustainable development are embedded into public sector decision making and that future generations are considered in decisions made today.

We are seeking views on providing legislative definitions of “sustainable development” and “wellbeing”, strengthening duties on public bodies to consider the National Outcomes in decision making, and extending these duties to Scottish Ministers. We are also asking for views on how best to ensure that the necessary accountability and support for these duties is in place, including the potential role of an Independent Commissioner for Future Generations. I look forward to receiving a range of views on these matters.

I have also written to the Finance and Public Administration, Net Zero and Transport, Economy and Fair Work and Rural and Islands Committees to inform them of the consultation launch.

Scotland and the EU share a high ambition for nature, and are both putting in place the actions required to meet the targets set out in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework agreed in December 2022. The EU’s provisional agreement on nature restoration seeks to restore 20% of EU’s land and sea.

Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1441 of 31 August 2022 amended Commission Regulation (EU) 546/2011 as regards specific uniform principles for evaluation and authorisation of plant protection products containing micro-organisms. It did not amend Commission Regulation (EU) 546/2011 as regards bees principles.

The Health and Safety Executive, as the UK regulator, closely monitors EU developments. Regulatory changes at GB level are considered in line with our domestic governance structure. The UK National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides , which outlines the UK approach to minimise the impacts of pesticides, will be published this year.