Chamber and committees

Scottish Government is pleased to be supporting City of Edinburgh Council to purchase Ministry of Defence owned properties at Dreghorn, Edinburgh as part of our Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The Council has also indicated interest in exploring the purchase of Ministry of Defence properties at Craigiehall, Edinburgh as one of a number of sites they are exploring. Officials have had outline discussions with them on this- including attending an initial site visit. City of Edinburgh Council are currently considering the site in more detail. Scottish Government has put in place a £50m Ukraine Longer Term Resettlement Fund to bring additional properties into use to boost the supply of homes for those fleeing conflict in Ukraine and we have noted the Council’s interest in applying to this Fund, and/or the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, should they decide to pursue the site. As the strategic housing authority it is for the Council to enter into discussions with the Ministry of Defence on potential site purchases.

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 .

During the development of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), a number of documents were produced, including the Full Business Case and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment which look at the expected impacts to business and others of this scheme.

Scotland’s DRS represents a significant, transformative, change in the way in which waste is handled across the country. These changes present opportunities for waste handling businesses to work with Circularity Scotland and their primary logistics contractor Biffa, to help support the scheme.

Any companies which wish to participate in Scotland’s DRS activities should contact the DRS enquiries team at Biffa and this will be discussed with Circularity Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16208 on‎ 27 March 2023, which provided an update on Winter Heating Payment. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

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.

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.

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.

The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery wrote to the Convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee on 13 December 2022, which provided the Scottish Government’s response to the ‘Ambitions into Action’ Inquiry. The letter expressed the Deputy First Minister’s shared ambition for an NPF that better achieves impact that is recognised and felt by the people who live in Scotland. The letter also set out more details on the development of the Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill.

The Committee, in their inquiry into the National Performance Framework, stated that where necessary the Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (WSD) Bill should also give legal effect to the outputs of the statutory review of the National Performance Framework and National Outcomes. The Scottish Government is therefore considering how the NPF can be further embedded in the practices of government and public bodies which will therefore form a key part of the development of the WSD Bill.

The Scottish Government continues to develop the policy proposals for the Bill and intended to set out more detailed proposals after the Review of National Outcomes is complete.

We continue to do all we can within our current powers to enable the over 50’s workforce to return to or remain in employment for as long as they wish. Increasing participation in fair and sustainable work will ensure that prosperity is shared more equally across Scottish society, including for the over 50s, and will help to tackle poverty, inequality, and exclusion. Our Fair Work action plan: becoming a leading Fair Work nation by 2025 published on 9 December 2022 includes actions and initiatives to address labour market inequalities for specific groups who are disadvantaged in the labour market, including the over 50’s workforce. This builds on our 2019 publication, A Fairer Scotland for Older people: framework for action .

One of these initiatives is the Workplace Equality Fund, now in its fifth year, which supports private and public sector employers to improve their policies and practices to remove labour barriers for certain priority groups including the over 50s. Projects funded this year include those focused on flexible working, women’s health and the menopause, which is particularly relevant for the over 50s workforce who are known to have greater caring responsibilities and are more likely to face health issues or be experiencing the menopause.

In addition, our Woman’s Health Plan, published August 2021, articulates our menopause and menstrual health workplace policy, and we continue to promote it across the public, private and third sector

Further support is provided through our flagship devolved services No One Left Behind, Fair Start Scotland, which take a person-centred approach to supporting people of all ages into sustainable employment recognising and addressing any specific challenges faced.