New powers will reduce waste and grow green economy
New legislation will create the tools to tackle waste and increase reuse and recycling rates.
The Circular Economy Bill will give Ministers powers to:
Set local recycling targets, building on the experience of Wales, which has the best recycling rate in the UK
Set statutory targets for delivery of a circular economy to measure progress in reducing waste and the nation’s carbon footprint
Ban the disposal of unsold consumer goods, to prevent good products ending up in landfill
Place charges on single-use items like coffee cups to encourage the move to reusable alternatives
Local authorities will be given additional enforcement powers, allowing them to crack down on flytipping and littering from cars.
The Scottish Government will also work with local authorities to co-design an updated national Code of Practice for household waste recycling, to improve consistency of services and increase the quality and quantity of recycling collected.
Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said: “I want everyone in the country to experience a modern, easy to use waste service that makes it easy for people to do the right thing for the planet.
“The Circular Economy Bill with give local Councils and the Scottish Government the powers they need to transform our economy and tackle throwaway culture.
“Of course, the best way of tackling waste is to not create it in the first place. There are huge economic opportunities in the circular economy and we have already seen businesses in Scotland creating jobs by turning what we might otherwise throw away into valuable new products and services.
“This legislation will support the growth of more green businesses and community organisations while cutting waste and climate emissions.”
Campaigners say that the new circular economy bill, which has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament yesterday could significantly reduce Scotland’s global climate impact by changing the way we use materials, but must be strengthened to do so.
A circular economy is when materials are reused and recycled as much as possible before new resources are taken from nature, as opposed to our current linear ‘take, make, dispose’ model. It is a vital step in creating the transformation needed to reduce Scotland’s impact on the climate.
Scotland consumed 72 million tonnes of material in 2018, which is 19 tonnes of material per person on average. Experts have stated that it is possible to live sustainable, high-quality lives on a material footprint of eight tonnes of materials per person per year.
84% of Scotland’s carbon footprint comes from the products and services we buy. If the law is passed, ministers will be able to introduce targets to reduce our overall consumption, and the impact of the goods we do need to use.
The environmental and social damage caused overseas by demand for goods in Scotland is not addressed in Scotland’s existing climate targets, which focus on reducing domestic emissions.
This means that around half of Scotland’s emissions, and wider environmental impacts of our consumption, are effectively “offshored” to other countries. This would change if consumption targets were brought in under the new circular economy law.
This measure has significant public support, with 86% of respondents to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the circular economy bill calling for the introduction of consumption targets.
The circular economy law will also: – Establish a circular economy strategy – Ban the disposal of unsold consumer goods – Bring in new fines for households failing to recycle – Place charges on single-use items
Kim Pratt, circular economy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “This new law has the potential to make a big difference to Scotland’s impact on the planet.
“The climate crisis is a global problem, so we need to take responsibility for the impact which happens outside of our borders due to our consumption of materials. It’s encouraging that the draft bill allows for consumption reduction targets to be set, and we urge the Scottish Parliament to go further and ensure that strong targets are brought in on the face of the bill.
“Moving to a circular economy is about much more than just improving our recycling. Strong consumption targets would mean policies to encourage producers to make products last for longer, ensure they are easy to repair, choose lower carbon materials, and to shift consumption patterns away from carbon intensive goods and services goods and services. With the right policies, circular economy measures will also create thousands of decent green jobs in Scotland.
“The Scottish Parliament must be bold and decisive to create the change the threat of climate breakdown demands. We need to see MSPs from all parties working together to ensure the Circular Economy Bill is a strong as possible.
“We can reduce our climate emissions and tackle the global ecological crisis by extracting fewer resources; shifting to a circular economy by properly valuing materials, and reusing and recycling is central to this.”
On the introduction of a new fixed penalty regime for households, Ms Pratt continued: “Measures to make products more sustainable and improved recycling systems available to everyone in Scotland must be prioritised over penalties for households.
“Responsibility lies first with producers to reduce the impact of the products on our shelves and make it possible for people to do the right thing.”
The UK would be turning its back on the vast majority of refugees, in breach of a number of binding international human rights obligations, if the Illegal Migration Bill is passed in its current form, the Joint Committee on Human Rights has warned.
In a report published yesterday, the Joint Committee finds that the legislation would deny access to the asylum system to the vast majority of refugees coming to the UK. It urges the Government not to breach its legal obligations to refugees, children and victims of modern slavery, and to play its part in the global system of refugee protection.
Key provisions in the Bill would fail to meet the UK’s obligations under international human rights law. These include denying refugees access to the asylum system and severely restricting human rights claims, broad detention and search powers, denying protections to modern slavery victims, and removing the right of appeals following age assessments.
Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Joanna Cherry KC MP said: “When she introduced this Bill to Parliament, the Home Secretary took the unusual step of making a statutory declaration under the Human Rights Act that she was unable to state that the bill was compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
“However, she has stated elsewhere that the Bill is compatible with international law. We disagree. Having carried out legislative scrutiny of the Bill it is overwhelmingly clear that it breaches a number of the UK’s international human rights obligations including the ECHR and risks breaching others.
“Most people fleeing persecution or conflict have no safe and legal way of getting here. Under the Bill, any refugee or victim of modern slavery who comes to the UK irregularly and indirectly, as most do, will automatically have their asylum claim declared inadmissible. They will also be subject to detention without time limit and removal from the UK irrespective of the merits of their claims.
“The Bill applies not only to refugees but also to victims of trafficking and slavery. By treating victims of modern slavery as ‘illegal migrants’ subject to detention and removal, this Bill would breach our legal obligations to such victims and would risk increasing trafficking of vulnerable people.
“Children are affected by every aspect of this Bill. The Government has a clear legal responsibility to protect the best interests of children. While no one wants children to make dangerous cross-Channel journeys, deterrence cannot override the UK’s binding legal obligations to protect children once they are here.
“Whether it is removing children’s ability to challenge incorrect decisions that they are adults, giving children life-long bans on re-entering the UK because of the choices made on their behalf by adults, or not putting safeguards for unaccompanied children accommodated by the Home Office on the face of the Bill, the Bill falls far short on providing the protections children need and deserve.
“If this bill is passed it is likely to have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups. As well as victims of trafficking and modern slavery and children this will include LGBT people.
“I urge the Government to seriously consider the recommendations in this report and take steps to address the human rights incompatibilities in this Bill. The UK has international legal obligations to those fleeing persecution and conflict, victims of modern slavery, and children. The Bill needs to comply with these obligations.”
Duty to make arrangements to remove
The Bill would place a new duty on the Home Secretary to make arrangements to remove anyone who comes to the UK irregularly and indirectly i.e. if they have not come directly from their country of persecution via a legal route.
It would apply to victims of trafficking and slavery, accompanied children, and unaccompanied children as soon as they turn 18. The Joint Committee finds that the scope of this duty is so broad that in practice it would remove the right to asylum for the vast majority of refugees coming to the UK.
Those who are caught by the Home Secretary’s ‘removal duty’ will have their asylum claims declared inadmissible meaning that the merits of their case will not be considered in the UK. Human rights claims relating to their countries of origin will also be declared inadmissible. Removals could be to any country deemed to be ‘safe’ by the Government, such as Rwanda.
The Committee find that this would breach numerous legal obligations under the Refugee Convention, which guarantees the rights of refugees irrespective of how they arrived in the country, and would see the UK fail to play its part in the global system of refugee protection.
Children
Children are impacted by every aspect of the Bill. The Bill would allow families with children to be detained indefinitely at any place deemed ‘appropriate’ and for any period deemed ‘reasonably necessary’.
Unaccompanied children can also be detained in any place deemed appropriate, although this power must be exercised only in accordance with regulations to be made by the Secretary of State, which may include time limits.
The Bill places the accommodation of unaccompanied children by the Home Office on a statutory footing, but no standards or safeguards for that accommodation appear on the face of the Bill.
The threat of removal from the UK when the child turns 18 is likely to harm the child’s ability to live a healthy, happy childhood. It also gives them a perverse incentive to flee the care of authorities, rendering them extremely vulnerable to traffickers, exploiters and criminal gangs.
The Joint Committee finds that the approach of the Bill in respect of children variously breaches or is likely to breach the rights of children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Age assessments
Accurately assessing whether a person is a child can be difficult, especially for people who are just over or just under the age of 18. Children are treated differently from adults in the UK’s immigration system for good reason, and wrongly treating a child as an adult can have severe negative consequences for that child and their rights.
The Bill removes all appeal rights and severely restricts judicial review for age assessment decisions, meaning most determinations of a person’s age will not be reviewable by an independent court. Therefore, if a child is wrongly assessed to be an adult, they are unlikely to be able to challenge that decision and will face the presumption of removal from the UK as an adult.
The Committee acknowledges that there are also clear safeguarding issues if adults are incorrectly judged to be children, but the removal of appeal rights does not assist in addressing those issues.
The Joint Committee finds it difficult to see how the removal of the ability to challenge age assessment decisions is compatible with the UK’s obligations to safeguard the best interests of the child under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, or the child’s rights under the ECHR, especially their right to a fair trial.
The Committee has previously published evidence from medical professionals that there are currently no scientific methods which can accurately and consistently determine whether a person is a child.
The Bill would nevertheless allow the Home Secretary to make regulations at a future date which would penalise purported-children who refuse to consent to the use of scientific methods to determine their age. Such regulations would explicitly allow the Secretary of State to presume that those who do not comply are adults.
We are concerned that this could result in the penalisation of children who refuse such interference with their bodily integrity because they have suffered traumatic journeys to the UK or been victims of abuse.
The Secretary of State has undertaken not to exercise this power until she is satisfied that scientific methods are capable of assessing age accurately and compatibly with human rights.
Nevertheless the Committee makes clear that any regulations made about this penalisation would have to be carefully drawn to ensure that the circumstances and experiences of the individual child and their best interests are fully considered before determining whether they had reasonable grounds for refusing to comply.
Trafficking and modern slavery
Many existing protections, support and assistance for victims of trafficking or modern slavery would be removed under the legislation.
If victims have come to the UK outside of a safe and legal route they will be liable to detention and subject to the removal duty unless they are cooperating with a criminal investigation or prosecution and are required to remain in the UK.
These measures clearly breach the UK’s obligations under the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking and the European Convention on Human Rights.
Detention
The Bill risks breaching article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to liberty, by removing current restrictions on immigration detention, including for children, families and pregnant women. It would authorise the Home Secretary to decide on the reasonable length of detention, a decision that is currently made by the courts.
The Joint Committee is further concerned that extending powers for detention would place increased pressure on an already struggling immigration detention system, risking a deterioration of conditions that could breach several articles of the ECHR.
Individuals subject to detention would, for the first 28 days, also have their right to bail restricted and be denied access to judicial review of their detention. This is also hard to reconcile with Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Banning future entry
Those who entered the UK irregularly would be banned from ever re-entering or settling in the UK in the future. They would also be barred from obtaining any form of British citizenship. The Bill gives the Secretary of State the discretion to make exceptions to these bans in individual cases.
The Committee finds that whether or not these life-long bans are compatible with international and domestic human rights law will depend on the Secretary of State making extensive and routine exceptions to take into account individual circumstances.
The Committee was concerned that the bans would be applied automatically to children, too, in effect penalising them for their parents’ or other adults’ choices to bring them to the UK irregularly even though they may have had no control over that decision.
The Joint Committee finds that this approach is likely to contravene the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Restricting legal challenges
The Joint Committee is concerned by the Bill’s restrictions on the ability of individuals subject to the removal duty to bring legal challenges to their removal before it takes place. These restrictions would likely violate the UK’s international treaty obligations.
While the Bill allows for ‘suspensive claims’ in exceptional circumstances, which would prevent a person from being removed from the UK while their claim is assessed, the narrow scope of these claims are unlikely to be consistent with the European Convention on Human Rights.
The tight timescale applicable to suspensive claims would also severely restrict the ability of claimants to access legal assistance and present their claims effectively.
Cap
The Committee reiterated that it would be contrary to the UK’s binding international law obligations under the Refugee Convention for the UK to reject asylum applications duly made in its territory and that a domestic quota could not displace those obligations.
However, it appears to the Committee that the cap is in practice only intended to limit the number of people the UK volunteers to resettle from abroad in cooperation with other states or organisations.
The UK’s participation in such burden-sharing resettlement schemes is and remains at the Government’s discretion, so the cap will in practice only be an internal Government administrative quota for those voluntary schemes and therefore not contravene the Refugee Convention.
A 52-year-old woman has today, Sunday, 11 June, 2023, been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.
The woman is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.
A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
The matter is active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the public are therefore advised to exercise caution if discussing it on social media.
As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.
UPDATE @ 17.33
A 52-year-old woman who was arrested earlier today, Sunday, 11 June, 2023, as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party, has been released without charge pending further investigation.
Following concerns raised by the advocacy group Energy Action Scotland over the number of households with pre-payment meters who have not claimed their voucher entitlement from the UK Energy Bill Support Scheme that ended in March 2023, Scottish Labour MSP Sarah Boyack is urging people in Edinburgh to redeem their vouchers before they expire on 30th June 2023.
In Edinburgh, 34 per cent of vouchers have yet to be claimed, with the approximate value of the unclaimed support in Edinburgh being at around £1,374,120.
Households with non-smart (traditional) prepayment meter need to actively redeem the vouchers that have been sent by post, text or email.
Once the voucher from the energy supplier is received, people will need to take it to a Post Office or PayPoint shop to add it to the gas or electricity top-up key or card.
Commenting Sarah Boyack MSP said: “If you live in a household with older, non-digital pre-payment meters, you have been issued with vouchers by post, text or email to support you with the rising energy costs.
“These vouchers are valid for 90 days and expired or lost vouchers can be re-issued through the energy supplier.
“However, all vouchers expire on 30th June when the scheme ends.
“If you are entitled to energy vouchers, now is time to redeem them. They may not resolve the cost of living crisis, but during these hard time, we need all support we can get.”
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, is calling on all Scotland’s political parties to come together and make mental health a key focus.
The call comes as new waiting time figures out yesterday (6th June), highlight that 469 children and young people had been languishing on waiting lists for more than a year for treatment from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) at the quarter ending March 2023.1
Indeed, just 74.2 per cent of patients with mental health problems were seen within 18 weeks of referral to CAMHS, with more than a quarter waiting longer than this time. This is short of the Scottish Government’s waiting time target of 90 per cent being seen within 18 weeks. 1
The new figures indicate that it has failed to deliver a key pledge to clear waiting lists by March 2023, as outlined in the NHS Recovery Plan.2
Figures also show that as many as 7,701 children and young people were still stuck on waiting lists to start treatment at the end of the quarter ending March 2023, an increase of 138 on the previous quarter ending December 2022.
The new figures are set against the backdrop of a mental health emergency, which is set to worsen given the cost-of-living crisis and services already at breaking point.
The SCSC is calling on a cross party approach to prioritise spending on mental health, avoiding a potential lost generation of children and young people with mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and self-harm.
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, cases of poor mental health in children and young people were at unprecedented levels, with under-resourced services struggling to keep pace with growing demand, leaving an increasing number of vulnerable individuals unable to access support. Children and young people are still battling with the long shadow of lockdown, and the rising cost of living is adding to the pressure.
A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “The latest figures highlighting that more than 460 of our children and young people have been languishing on waiting lists for treatment more than a year is extremely alarming.
“Disturbingly, this means that the Scottish Government has totally failed to achieve its pledge to clear waiting lists by March 2023, leaving many thousands of children and young people waiting for treatment.
“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic demand for already overstretched and under-resourced mental health services was increasing. The mental health of our children and young people has deteriorated markedly over the past decade, and both the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis are making matters even worse, creating a potential lost generation of vulnerable children and young people.
“We are facing a mental health emergency and many of our children and young people are at breaking point, with stress and anxiety reaching alarming levels as they battle with the long shadow of lockdown and the rising cost of living.
“We must make the delivery of adequately resourced mental health services for our children and young people an absolute priority and would urge all of Scotland’s political parties to come together and make this a reality.”
The National Deaf Children’s Society has backed calls in the Scottish Parliament for more support for deaf children affected by the NHS Lothian audiology scandal.
A motion proposed by Jeremy Balfour, Conservative MSP for Lothians, on the current lack of support, has received cross party backing and will be debated in Parliament tomorrow (Thursday 8th June).
The debate follows a roundtable which Mr Balfour organised with families whose children were affected by the scandal earlier in the year.
The motion highlights that the failure of NHS Lothian to identify children’s deafness early will mean some children permanently miss out on opportunities to develop language and communication.
An independent report published in 2021, found that NHS Lothian was identifying children’s deafness when they were on average 4.5 years old, while the average age of identification as deaf in England was three months. The report was commissioned after the National Deaf Children’s Society raised concerns about the quality of children’s audiology at NHS Lothian.
Mark Ballard, Head of Policy for Scotland for the National Deaf Children’s Society, welcomed the debate saying: “It’s vital that NHS Lothian and local authorities work together to ensure every child affected by the failings of NHS Lothian’s paediatric audiology service get the support that they need to thrive.
“We must not fail these children twice – first by failing to identify their deafness and then by failing to give them the support they need, especially as their needs may be more complex due to late identification.”
The National Deaf Children’s Society is calling for a specialist resource provision to be set up within a school in Lothian and the Borders, similar to those in Glasgow, Falkirk and Dundee.
The charity wants NHS Lothian and local authorities to work together on an individual plan for support for every deaf child involved.
The National Deaf Children’s Society also calls for the recruitment of additional specialist staff to address the more complex language and communications needs of children whose deafness was missed in the early years, who may struggle to catch up with their hearing classmates.
CLIMATE GROUPS CALL ON SCOT GOVT TO SURPASS UK LABOUR PHASE OUT PLANS
Climate campaigners have written to the First Minister Yousaf to call on the Scottish Government to ‘not only match but go further’ than the commitment of UK Labour to block future oil and gas development. It says the transition away from fossil fuels is an opportunity for the “political leadership that is needed to build a fairer and more equal Scotland.”
The letter comes ahead of Scottish Parliament debate (7/6/23) on fossil fuels and urges the Scottish Government to prioritise planning and action that delivers a just transition away from fossil fuels for workers and communities currently employed by this industry.
The letter, signed by 5 coalitions and 34 climate, fuel poverty and international justice groups from RSPB to Christian Aid to Extinction Rebellion Scotland, states how countless credible institutions are clear about the incompatibility of new oil and gas fields with a safe climate future.
The call comes amidst concerns that Humza Yousaf’s Government is going backwards on oil and gas after statements about future North Sea activity from Cabinet Secretary Màiri McAllan and criticism of the Labour position by Energy Minister Gillian Martin.
The letter also says that “workers in the oil and gas industry already have a plan for a just transition, they just need political support to make it happen” and that to ensure secure affordable energy Scottish Ministers must use their powers to “accelerate well-planned domestic renewable energy production and improve the energy efficiency of our buildings.”
The chair of the UK Climate Change Committee Lord Deben has also spoken out in support of the Labour position saying that it “should be the common view of all parties.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “Every new barrel of oil worsens the climate crisis and takes us further away from a fair and fast transition to renewable energy.
“The Scottish Government must be willing to stand up to oil companies and commit to ending oil and gas extraction as an essential part of planning for a just transition for workers and communities.
“Oil and gas workers are ready to lead a rapid and fair transition away from fossil fuels, and have a blueprint to create an energy industry that protects workers, communities and the climate.
“Ministers must set an end date for oil and gas this decade to provide certainty for the sector, enable workforce planning and make it clear that investing in renewables is the only choice for our energy future.”
Jamie Livingstone, Head of Oxfam Scotland highlighted how support for oil and gas expansion will “undermine Scotland’s global climate leadership” commenting: “It’s estimated that one person will die of hunger every 28 seconds across East Africa this month because of a drought that would not have happened without climate change.
“A just transition for those working in the oil and gas industry in the UK is essential, but this transition must also be much faster to avert further devastating global impacts. That starts with blocking all new oil and gas extraction. No ifs, no buts. The Scottish Government’s leadership on global climate justice will only remain credible if it strongly opposes the UK Government granting any new licences for climate-wrecking fossil fuels.”
Anne McCall, Director of RSPB Scotland, said: “The shift away from fossil fuels and toward renewables is essential if we are to tackle the intertwined nature and climate crisis. Continuing to extract and burn oil and gas makes no sense if we want to stop climate change causing chaos for ourselves and the other living creatures that human activities have already harmed.
“With robust ecological evidence informing where new renewable developments go, we must make the shift to clean energy in a nature positive way. Scotland is one of the most wildlife-depleted countries in the world, and our progress in reducing emissions has stalled, so there is no excuse for delaying the transition.”
Dylan Hamilton from youth climate group Fridays for Future commented, “”The Scottish Government has talked the talk, but it’s time to walk the walk.
“We have allowed the climate crisis to worsen and now people are already suffering all over the world. We can’t afford to take our time, it is a fact that to prevent catastrophic climate breakdown we must end oil and gas extraction. You can’t make deals with physics, and millions of lives and the future are on the line.”
TORIES ‘FAILING’ VULNERABLE UNACCOMPANIED ASYLUM-SEEKING CHILDREN
Deidre Brock MP will use a House of Commons debate today to call on the UK government to devolve immigration powers to the Scottish Parliament so Scotland can create an asylum system based on fairness and dignity.
Leading a Westminster Hall debate, the Edinburgh North & Leith MP will argue that the Tories are failing to protect vulnerable, unaccompanied children seeking asylum in the UK.
She will also outline how the Illegal Migration Bill will make the situation even worse for children who have been separated from their parents and how it significantly encroaches on devolved powers.
Commenting, Deidre Brock MP said: “The Tories have utterly failed in their duty to safeguard the wellbeing of vulnerable unaccompanied children seeking safety and refuge in the UK.
“Hundreds of children have gone missing from Home Office run-hotels, sparking condemnation from the UN that the UK Government is failing in its obligations to prevent the trafficking of children.
The Illegal Migration Bill will make the situation even worse as the door will be slammed in their faces when they arrive in the UK to seek sanctuary.
“I am proud that Scotland has played its part in welcoming refugees who are desperate to rebuild their lives. However, powers still lie with the UK government and their hostile environment policies. Creating safe and legal routes is the only realistic way to disrupt the business model human traffickers use to exploit already vulnerable people.
“Power over immigration should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament so we can build an immigration system that works for Scotland and an asylum system with compassion and respect.”
The Prime Minister’s plan to stop the boats is beginning to work, with small boat arrivals to the UK down by 20% this year.
This is the first time since the small boat phenomenon began that arrivals in the first half of the year fell compared to the year before. This is not a Europe-wide trend – small boat arrivals to Europe are up 30%.
The Prime Minister set out the progress that has been made on this, one of his five priorities, on a visit to Dover this morning. He also confirmed that:
Our French deal prevented 33,000 illegal crossings last year, 40% more than the year before
Thanks to our partnership with the Government of Albania, Albanian small boat arrivals are down 90% year-on-year and we have returned more than 1,800 Albanian illegal migrants and foreign criminals on weekly flights since December
We have increased the number of illegal working raids by more than 50%, and arrests have more than doubled
The legacy asylum backlog is down almost a fifth since December – and we are on track to deliver our target to clear this by the end of the year
During his statement, the Prime Minister made clear that we still face significant obstacles, and we will see more crossings in the months ahead, but he is determined to stay the course and do what it takes to fix this problem.
The Prime Minister also announced the next steps in the Government’s relentless efforts to get illegal migrants out of expensive hotels and into alternative sites, including confirming that the Government has secured two new vessels. These plans will see thousands moved out of hotels by the Autumn.
The big political news of the week in Scotland was undoubtedly the further disputes about the Scottish Government’s troubled Deposit Return Scheme (writes Fraser of Allander Institute’s MAIRI SPOWAGE).
This followed the decision by the UK Government to allow the scheme in Scotland to proceed, granting a “temporary and limited” exemption from the Internal Market Act, but only if the Scottish scheme excluded glass – and therefore include PET plastic, aluminium and steel cans only.
The justification from the UK government’s point of view is that the exemption is temporary only until UK-wide schemes are introduced (planned to be in 2025); and that the exemption does not include glass because the scheme that the UK Government are planning to introduce does not include glass.
The Scottish Government have made it clear, through a statement by the responsible Minister Lorna Slater on Tuesday, that this may mean that the scheme as designed in Scotland is not viable. The SG are now examining the implications of how and if the scheme can proceed on this basis.
If the decision by the SG was to scrap the scheme, or even to proceed without glass, there are likely to be calls for significant compensation for the businesses who have invested money to comply with the scheme, including the glass elements.
This is not just an issue about DRS, or actually about Scotland. Wales had also planned to introduce a similar scheme, also including glass, and Mark Drakeford intervened yesterday to say that he would “dispute the use of the internal market for these purposes”, flagging that the UK Government had also initially planned to include glass in their scheme.
This row is now firmly in the area of constitutional grievance, with both the Welsh and Scottish Governments accusing the UK Government of meddling in devolved areas. We await to see how the Scottish Government will respond, but it is likely to include significant condemnation of the UK government no matter which course of action is chosen.
More questions over the cost of the National Care Service
While the fate of the National Care Service overall is uncertain, despite the new First Minister reiterating his commitment to the idea in recent weeks, there have been further exchanges between the Finance and Public Administration Committee at Holyrood and the Minister responsible Maree Todd.
In a letter published on Tuesday, the acting convener Michael Marra MSP has outlined the displeasure of the committee at not being given any more details of the costs of the scheme, given the formal role that this Committee has in scrutinising Financial Memorandums which accompany legislation and the fact they had formally requested more information after what they saw as an inadequate first draft.
A deadline of 21st June for the Minister to respond – watch this space for updates!
Scotland’s economy growing faster than the UK in recent months
This week the Scottish Government published monthly data for March, which also meant they published the first estimate of quarterly growth for Scotland. This showed that Scotland had grown 0.4% in the four months to March, compared to 0.1% for the UK as a whole.
This led to headlines saying “Scottish economy grows at four times rate of the UK” and the like.
As folks who comment a lot on this sort of data, our heart sinks a little when seeing the growth figures being described like this. Yes, 0.4 is 4 times the size of 0.1. (Although to be technical, the figures are actually 0.13 and 0.36 – so not quite). But headlines like this somewhat exaggerate the meaning of such a difference in a quarterly figure and what it tells us about economic performance in Scotland vs the UK.
Digging under the data, the differences mainly come from the figures from March itself, where we see a contraction in the UK figure – driven by a contraction in consumer-facing services. It is really interesting to see these services in Scotland holding up a bit better, at least according to this first estimate of monthly growth.
Scotland
UK
Monthly growth to March
0.0%
-0.3%
Quarterly growth to March
0.4%
0.1%
Annual Growth to March
2.1%
1.9%
Growth since pre-pandemic level (Feb 2020)
1.2%
0.1%
Growth over the last 5 years
1.6%
2.6%
Growth over the last 10 years
9.8%
15.5%
If we look over the last year, Scotland still performs better – growing at 2.1% compared to 1.9% at the UK level. Although, we should all be aware that such differences could change as data get revised.
Over the longer term, we can see that growth in Scotland has been more muted – driven partly by the oil price shock in 2015/16, and also over the medium term in the differences in population growth in Scotland compared to the UK average.
We’ll continue to dig under these data to understand more about differential economic performance in Scotland and the UK!
Summer has definitely arrived over the last week, and I’m sure we won’t be the only ones cracking out the barbeque this weekend. Enjoy the sunshine (with the factor 50 on, of course)!
