Chamber and committees

I want to ask the same question of both panellists, starting, perhaps, with Professor Nolan. You have touched on some of these issues in response to the convener’s questions, but I note that the Universities Scotland and British Council Scotland submissions both highlight the importance of the Scottish Government’s as yet unpublished international education strategy. What are your main asks for inclusion in the strategy, and what support and commitments from the Scottish Government would you like to see?

Thank you—that was interesting.

I turn to James Hampson. What would you like the Scottish Government’s international education strategy to provide?

I am conscious that the clock on the wall is ticking away. I thank the cabinet secretary and his officials for their answers.

The Scottish Government’s stated position is to align with EU law. How do you monitor whether cabinet secretaries and ministers are adhering to that—[Inaudible.]. For example, the delay to the deposit return scheme could lead to divergence from the EU circular economy package.

In the interests of transparency, which the minister has committed to, will the Scottish Government instruct Circularity Scotland to comply with freedom of information requests?

Zero Waste Scotland has a policy of generally complying with FOI requests. Who created Circularity Scotland as a private company?

Circularity Scotland proposed a date in 2023—June 2023—in October. Were you aware of that or not?

I have some short, simple questions. On what date were you aware that there would be a delay to the scheme?

No staff. Thank you, minister.

Really ambitious schemes are being delivered throughout Europe. Wales, Northern Ireland and Portugal are trialling digital schemes, and Latvia has a traditional but more ambitious scheme, with refillable and standardised bottles. However, I have real concerns about the delivery of the scheme in Scotland. It appears that the minister is not in control of Circularity Scotland. Therefore, how can we as parliamentarians have any confidence that this shambolic scheme, which is shrouded in secrecy, will be delivered?

It is worth noting that the Scottish Government could have set up an independent non-departmental public body to deliver the scheme, but it chose to create a private company, which now refuses to reply to FOIs that I have sent to it. There is a big question with regard to secrecy. If the minister was not aware that Circularity Scotland was issuing tenders in October 2021 with a launch date of June 2023, how can we possibly be assured that the scheme will be delivered on the new, delayed date? I urge members not to vote for that delay at this time until the questions around transparency are answered.