Chamber and committees

In September 2020, ClimateXChange published a study titled “Potential sources of waste heat for heat networks in Scotland”. The report examined a variety of potential waste heat sources, including data centres.

The study identified nine commercial data centres located in Scotland, but recognised the actual number is likely to be much higher. In addition, some commercial data centres are likely to be kept confidential for security reasons. It concluded that the total waste heat that can be recovered from data centres is therefore likely to have been underestimated in the study.

The study can be accessed at the following address:

https://www.climatexchange.org.uk/research/projects/potential-sources-of-waste-heat-for-heat-networks-in-scotland/?msclkid=42fdd948b3fe11ecbd09640b7d2a6cc2

The potential carbon footprint of the vehicles used in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme was factored into the modelling work carried out during the scheme’s development and the work concluded that scheme will reduce CO2 emissions by 4 million tonnes over 25 years – the equivalent to taking 83,000 cars off the road.

More information is contained in the Strategic Environmental Assessment Addendum published on 22 December 2021, which you can read here .

The Scottish Government has reviewed the article Night shift work and risk of aggressive prostate cancer in the Norwegian Offshore Petroleum Workers (NOPW) cohort and notes its findings.

We strongly encourage all employers to adopt Fair Work practices and apply a flexible approach regarding continuous and prolonged night shift working to protect the health and wellbeing of the workforce.

Producers who want to sell scheme articles to consumers in Scotland on or after 16 August 2023 must be registered with SEPA.

The DRS scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) estimates that the registration process takes approximately six weeks to complete. This is similar to schemes operating elsewhere in Europe.

If producers have questions about registration, or other DRS-related matters, they should contact CSL as soon as possible.

Circularity Scotland, the scheme administrator is a private non-profit company and is responsible for operating the scheme, including its logistics. Questions regarding the detail of their contracts should be directed to them.

The Scottish Government can however confirm that an extensive tender process for a logistics service provider was carried out by Circularity Scotland over a period of around 12 months and was open to businesses of all sizes. The process involved extensive due diligence by Circularity Scotland. BIFFA was awarded that contract in July 2022.

The Scottish Government has not given any money to Circulatrity Scotland Ltd (CSL),

In line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, and just like similar schemes around the world, Scotland’s deposit return scheme is being delivered and funded by industry, led by the scheme administrator, CSL.

Circularity Scotland is a not-for-profit company, delivered and funded by industry, in line with the polluter pays principle. This structure is based on successful schemes seen elsewhere in Europe, and was approved by the Scottish Parliament in 2020.

Circularity Scotland is therefore separate from government and we have no role in the recruitment of staff or their pay levels. Decisions on pay are made by the Circularity Scotland board, which is made up of members who bring a range of experience from across a range of sectors, which is appropriate for a private company that is delivering an industry-led scheme. As a private company Circularity Scotland will publish annual accounts which will include relevant salary information. Any additional information on salaries should be sought directly from Circularity Scotland.

NHS Lanarkshire identified that the current performance of the ventilation system within Ward 16 (haematology) does not meet the recommendations of the current Scottish Healthcare Technical Memorandum (SHTM). The health board is currently undertaking a project to upgrade the ventilation system within Ward 16, in line with SHTM requirements. A number of mitigations have been implemented to address the performance of the ventilation system in Ward 16 whilst the works are being developed and clinical teams continue to closely monitor patients with patient safety remaining at the centre of all decisions.

Since 1 September 2022, I have held four meetings with representatives of larger stakeholder groups who have a keen interest in the development of a Wellbeing and Sustainable Bill and the establishment of a Future Generations Commissioner. In addition, I attended the WEAII Wealth of Nations 2.0 Conference joining in discussions with a range of participants in relation to a wellbeing economy and future generations.

Scottish Government Ministers meet monthly with their counterparts in the other UK administrations via the Intra-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs to discuss a number of issues, including DRS. Officials also engage regularly with representatives of the other UK administrations to ensure that, when their own deposit return schemes launch, there is as high a degree of alignment as possible with the Scottish DRS. However, this will not be at the cost of reducing the aims and ambitions of our scheme.