Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09303 on 5 July 2022. 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 .

Under Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012, SEPA may only grant a permit in respect of a specified waste management activity if it is satisfied that planning permission is in force under the Town and Country Planning Act (Scotland) 1997 where the use of the site for the activity requires such permission. As such, SEPA are unable to issue permits if a facility does not have planning permission.

That is why, in line with Dr Church’s recommendation that no further planning permission is granted unless balanced by an equal or greater closure of capacity, (with limited exceptions for remote and rural areas, if fully justified) we will keep in place the Energy from Waste Notification Direction. This requires planning authorities to alert Scottish Ministers of new planning applications that involve incineration facilities and to notify Scottish Ministers if they are minded to grant planning permission to such facilities. This gives Ministers the opportunity to decide whether there are national interests at stake which would merit Ministers calling in an application for their own determination or to allow the local authority to issue the decision at local level.

Zero Waste Scotland is an independent, not-for-profit organisation. Its work in relation to staff wellbeing and working practices is an operational matter for the body. I have asked Zero Waste Scotland’s CEO to respond directly to you on this matter.

The Scottish Government is already taking measures to reduce the quantity of plastic in the residual waste stream. In terms of reducing the proportion of recyclable materials (which include plastics) in residual waste streams, we have implemented bans on problematic single use plastic items and confirmed over £20 million-worth of investments in local recycling infrastructure from our £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund, funding a range of improvements including boosting Scotland’s capacity to recycle problematic materials like plastic films. Additionally, we are implementing Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme and reforming extended producer responsibility for packaging.

To build on this progress, our recently published Waste Route Map consultation contains a number of proposals to reduce the proportion of recyclable materials in the waste stream, including reducing consumption of single use items, mainstreaming reuse and improving recycling from households and businesses, for example, by facilitating the co-design of high quality, high performing household recycling and reuse services. The consultation on the Route Map also sets out a proposal for the Scottish Government to facilitate the development of a sector-led plan by 2024 to restrict the carbon impacts of incineration and proposes to work with the waste and resources sector to accelerate the reduction of the carbon impacts of existing incineration plants. We will begin by focusing on measures to divert the highest carbon-emitting materials from incineration, such as plastics.

The recent independent review of the role of incineration found that while there may be a temporary under-capacity of residual waste treatment in Scotland in 2025, when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste comes into force, there is a risk of long-term overcapacity beginning from 2026 or 2027, if all or most of the incineration capacity in the pipeline is built. The review noted that export is a feasible short-term option for the treatment of residual waste in order to bridge the expected capacity gap, but did not assess the cost of this option.

The most recent assessment of costs was the Waste Markets Study in 2019, which was commissioned to assess readiness for implementing the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste and considered potential costs of available options, including exporting waste. The report can be found here: Waste markets study: full report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The recent independent review of the role of incineration found that while there may be a temporary under-capacity of residual waste treatment in Scotland in 2025, when the ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste comes into force, there is a risk of long-term overcapacity beginning from 2026 or 2027, if all or most of the incineration capacity in the pipeline is built.

We are working closely with local authorities to support those that do not currently have solutions to the forthcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste in 2025. The support includes facilitating collaborative procurement and providing technical, procurement and legal support for local authorities.

Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS), as well as other partners, is supporting the Scottish Government to realise ambitions for a Circular Economy in Scotland which is critical to tackling the climate and nature crises. In this regard, ZWS is an important delivery partner for the Scottish Government, providing expertise on Circular Economy policy, programmes and research which help to fulfil commitments set out in the Bute House Agreement and the Programme for Government 21-22. The Scottish Government will continue to fund ZWS and other partners that are able to provide the required specialist expertise to progress the Circular Economy agenda.

On 8 July 2022, the First Minister and I represented the Scottish Government at the summit meeting of the British-Irish Council hosted by the Government of Guernsey in St Peter Port. The meeting was attended by Ministers from all eight of the BIC Member Administrations and was chaired by the Chief Minister of Guernsey, Deputy Peter Ferbrache.

The Summit focussed on Collaborative Spatial Planning: The revitalisation of Towns, and included a site visit to a regeneration area of St Peter Port which I attended with fellow Planning Ministers from the BIC member Administrations. I also participated in a meeting of Planning Ministers on the CSP theme ahead of the main summit to discuss the work being carried out in this area in our own jurisdictions.

During the main Summit meeting the Council reflected on the latest political developments, with the First Minister communicating views on the cost of living crisis, the Northern Ireland Protocol and the war in Ukraine.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at: britishirishcouncil.org.

37th British-Irish Council Summit, Government of Guernsey

08 July 2022

Communiqué

The British-Irish Council (BIC) held its 37th Summit meeting today hosted by the Government of Guernsey. The heads of delegation were welcomed by the Chief Minister of the Government of Guernsey, Deputy Peter Ferbrache. Deputy Ferbrache extended a particular welcome to Alfred Cannan MHK who attended his first British-Irish Council Summit as Chief Minister of the Isle of Man. A full list of Ministerial participants is attached.

Latest Political Developments

The Council reflected on the latest political developments across their administrations, and took the opportunity to engage on a number of topics of mutual interest. These included the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the impact of the rising cost of living particularly in the areas of fuel and housing, shared climate and decarbonisation objectives, ongoing relations with the EU, and the continuing challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cooperation on matters of mutual interest

In advance of the Summit meeting, Ministers with responsibility for collaborative spatial planning met to share best practice across BIC administrations on the contribution of spatial planning to town revitalisation and the decarbonisation agenda. The Council held a further discussion on this topic during the Summit meeting, noting that an opportunity exists to revitalise our towns and make them places where people want to live, do business and spend their leisure time, while delivering on a range of wider outcomes including inclusive development, addressing climate change, supporting green recovery and promoting active and sustainable travel.

The Council also welcomed the recent Ministerial Meeting of the BIC Energy work sector, which considered shared challenges including the threat of climate change, the desire to make greater progress in energy efficiency, and the need to ensure energy security.

The Council took the opportunity to discuss the recent work of the Council across all of its Work Sectors and to take note of the ongoing collaborative work across all administrations. This work includes recent symposia on the topics of “Social Value as a Driver for Social Enterprise” organised by the Social Inclusion work sector, and “Working together to meet the health needs of people experiencing homelessness and substance use issues”, jointly organised by the Housing and Drugs & Alcohol work sectors.

Next Summit Meeting

The Council noted that the next BIC Summit will be hosted by the UK Government.

BIC Secretariat

08 July 2022

Scottish Government does not hold information on flytipping incidents in each local authority. This detailed information can be obtained by contacting local authorities directly.

There is no single dataset of all flytipping incidents in Scotland, as there is no legal requirement for duty bodies or landowners to report on flytipping externally.

The recent National Litter and Flytipping Strategy consultation covered proposals to improve data collection and reporting mechanisms, including mandatory reporting of flytipping incidents for statutory bodies. We are analysing responses in advance of publishing a final National Litter and Flytipping Strategy later this year.

This information has been placed in the Parliament’s reference centre (BIB number 63508 ).