Committee
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee 16 February 2021
16 Feb 2021 · S5 · Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee
Item of business
Subordinate Legislation
Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 [Draft]
That is helpful. It was not an accidental gap, if that is what Finlay Carson is concerned about. It was not a situation that had been overlooked; a decision was taken in light of what we understood the pandemic situation to be at the time and the way that it was heading, which, across the UK, of course, turned out not to be as optimistic as it might have been. In a sense, that reinforces my caution about 31 May. As much as we hope that that really will be the end of the necessity for the approach, we have already learned that the virus has surprises in store for us, and I do not want to commit myself to something that cannot possibly be committed to.
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
The second item on our agenda is to take evidence on the draft Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021 from the Cabinet Secretar...
The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (Roseanna Cunningham)
SNP
The purpose of the regulations is quite simple: it is to increase the minimum charge for single-use carrier bags from 5p to 10p. That will reduce further the...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you, cabinet secretary. Do members have any questions about the regulations for the cabinet secretary?
Mark Ruskell
Green
I welcome the move, but I have some questions about the regulations. First, will consideration be given to extending the temporary Covid-related exemption me...
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
I cannot possibly answer the first question. The answer to it depends to an extent on where we are in the context of the pandemic. Currently, the Covid regul...
Finlay Carson
Con
I appreciate the cabinet’s secretary’s response regarding plastic use in deliveries. The exemption came into force in April 2020 but expired in October 2020....
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
You are asking me about a different piece of legislation. I have said that I hope that 31 May holds. I cannot in any way foresee what might or might not be t...
Gareth Heavisides (Scottish Government)
That is correct, cabinet secretary. The initial exemption regulations ran out on 3 October. At the time, given that we were in a different situation with Cov...
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
That is helpful. It was not an accidental gap, if that is what Finlay Carson is concerned about. It was not a situation that had been overlooked; a decision ...
Finlay Carson
Con
That shows that there was a gap. We went back into what was, in effect, a national lockdown on boxing day, but the decision to extend the exemption was not m...
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
That would not have been carelessness; there would have been specific reasons for that. I will need to go back into the progress of that piece of legislation...
Finlay Carson
Con
Okay.
Mark Ruskell
Green
Obviously, the levy raises important money for environmental projects and other initiatives. Will the 5p increase deliver more money or less money because th...
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
I do not have an answer to that question. Obviously, if anybody wanted to voluntarily put forward sums of money that are equivalent to what they might have h...
Mark Ruskell
Green
You have certainly answered the second part. The first part was about the increase in the levy and the net benefit. Inaudible.—buying bags. What will that do...
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
I cannot model that now, because it will depend on consumer behaviour. An entirely successful scheme would probably result in no money coming in, because peo...
The Convener
SNP
I notice from the chat box that Gareth Heavisides would like to come back in.
Roseanna Cunningham
SNP
Oh. What have I said wrong?
Gareth Heavisides
You have not said anything wrong, cabinet secretary. On the point that Mark Ruskell made about continuing donations, we contacted retailers at the time of t...
The Convener
SNP
Okay. Nobody else wants to come in, so we will move on to agenda item 3. I invite the cabinet secretary to move motion S5M-23854. Motion moved, That the En...
The Convener
SNP
I thank the cabinet secretary and her officials for their time this morning.