Chamber and committees

Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, land contamination is the responsibility of local authorities. Any land which is identified as being contaminated, including any contaminated by historic metal mining, should be managed in accordance with their routine regime of identifying and securing remediation for contaminated land.

The abundance of fish in Scottish waters means that a varied industry has developed over time, with many different types of fishing vessels operating as part of a mixed fishery. There are different target fish species, depending on the type of fishing vessel and where it operates, and different issues around unwanted catch. Discarding in the nephrops trawl fishery does occur as whitefish may be caught alongside nephrops. Since the introduction of the landing obligation, this unwanted catch can amount to a disproportionate cost for fisherman who have to land and then dispose of it. As such, the Scottish Government have utilised lawful exemptions to the landing obligation for these fish, in order to lessen the financial burden on these small nephrops vessels. These exempted fish are fully accounted for in quota calculations and factored into stock assessments.

As part of the policy development of our Future Catching Policy, we have been working with industry to explore pragmatic technical and spatial measures to support fishers to reduce discarding. We also know there are improvements we can make to the implementation of the landing obligation that will make the rules around discarding more effective and will work with industry and others to develop this.

In the 2023-24 financial year, the number of case-accused with at least one charge that resulted in them receiving either a deprivation or disqualification order was eighty-five.

The Scottish Government has not conducted specific analysis on the effectiveness of previous efforts to raise public awareness of proper battery disposal. However, feedback from stakeholders, including local authorities and industry partners, has highlighted several ongoing challenges:

• Public Awareness Gaps: A significant proportion of the public remains unaware of the environmental risks posed by improper battery disposal and the recycling options available to them.
• Accessibility Issues: Recycling points for batteries are not always easily accessible or visible, particularly in rural areas.
• Messaging Limitations: Previous public awareness efforts have lacked the reach and consistency needed to drive long-term behavioural change.

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) are currently reviewing its operational delivery model for SORT. The findings of the review will be discussed with the Scottish Government to ensure any changes in operational delivery meet with the expectations set out in the service level agreement, and that SAS is able to provide a safe and sustainable response to potentially hazardous and significant incidents.

Local Authorities are responsible for identifying potentially contaminated land within in their areas, and when any contaminated land is identified, informing SEPA, the land owner, the occupier(s) of the land, and any person who appears to be an appropriate person in respect of the remediation of that land. It would be for the local authority to inform the public of any risk identified except in the case of contaminated land designated as a special site in which case, the responsibility would lie with SEPA.

The Scottish Government does not collect this information centrally. It is the responsibility of local authorities to identify contaminated land within their respective areas, and thereafter, except in the case of contaminated land designated as a special site, secure remediation for that contaminated land.

The UK Government’s decision to remove glass from its own scheme and refusal to agree a full Internal Market Act exclusion for Scotland’s own scheme meant we were left with no choice but to delay our scheme last year.

Scotland’s scheme would have been operational in 2024 and would already be improving our recycling rates, however, the Internal Market Act prevented us from moving forward with a deposit return scheme as intended.

Urgent action is needed from the UK Government to repeal the Internal Market Act and restore the full powers of devolved Parliaments.

Until then, the UK scheme remains the only practical option available to Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to seeing it delivered by October 2027 and will continue to work to that end. We opened applications for a DRS scheme administrator alongside England and Northern Ireland at the start of December.

Any move towards cleaner fuels must take place as part of a just transition, whilst ensuring that no one is left in fuel poverty.

The Scottish Government is currently gathering further evidence around the potential impacts of taking forward a ban on the sale of house coal on fuel supplies. We are also carefully considering the potential impacts on costs in rural and islands communities, where many still rely on coal for primary heating and/or secondary back up. We will announce next steps in the first part of 2025.

Although the Scottish Government does not hold any specific information, there is potential for coal purchased online from solid fuel merchants based in Scotland to be transported to England.

Individual merchants are responsible for making clear to their customers the legal restrictions around the supply and use of coal in England.