Chamber and committees

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 Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 does not grant Scottish Ministers the power to ban single-use items. Section 10 of that Act does provide Scottish Ministers with the power to make regulations to require suppliers of single-use items to charge for specified single use items.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the OIM and has discussed measures already taken to restrict supply or manufacture single-use items, and will continue to do so in relation to any future policy. However, the OIM has no formal role in approving legislation and the Scottish Government is under no obligation to seek advice on policy development or draft legislation from the OIM.

The Internal Market Act was imposed on the Scottish Parliament without its consent, and radically undermines its powers. Every party in the chamber, barring the Scottish Conservatives, voted for its repeal in October 2023. The new UK Government must now work with the Scottish Government to undo the damage the Act does, and ensure the full restoration of the Parliament’s powers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Scottish Government recognises the essential role that heritage has in shaping Scotland's identity, and the importance of protecting and caring for it in a sustainable way so current and future generations can enjoy and benefit from it.

Tartan is inextricably connected with Scotland, its history and its culture. With Tartan Day being a chance for people around the world to mark their connections to Scotland.

The Scottish Government is grateful for the work of Prickly Thistle in maintaining and innovating the craft of tartan weaving in the Highlands.

The Scottish Government welcomes the insights provided by The Circularity Gap Report: Textiles published by Circle Economy. The report highlights critical challenges and opportunities in transitioning towards a circular economy within the textiles sector.

The findings of the report align with the Scottish Government’s proposals set out in the draft circular economy and waste route map to 2030, to tackle textile waste, reduce resource consumption, and encourage sustainable production and consumption practices. The final Route Map will be confirmed in due course.

The Scottish Government will engage with stakeholders across the textiles supply chain to develop policies and actions that reflect the urgency highlighted by this report. We recognise the need for a strategic approach to textiles across the waste hierarchy, from production and consumption, through to recycling and end of life management.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with stakeholders across the textiles supply chain to develop policies and actions that reflect the urgency highlighted by this report.

We will carefully review the recommendations of the Circularity Gap Report: Textiles and consider its findings as part of our ongoing efforts to deliver a net-zero and circular economy for Scotland.