Chamber and committees

Welcome back. I welcome our next panel of witnesses, who are academic experts in the field of circular economy policy: Toni Freitas, lecturer in circular economy and programme director for the MSc in the circular economy at the University of Edinburgh; Dr Henry Irving, senior lecturer in public history at Leeds Beckett University; Dr Feja Lesniewska—I hope that I pronounced that correctly—who is senior lecturer in sustainable transitions and environmental law at the University of Surrey and an honorary associate professor at University College London; and Dr Melissa Marques-McEwan, assistant professor in sustainable and circular businesses at Heriot-Watt University. Professor Aileen McHarg, professor of public law and human rights at Durham University, joins us remotely.

I thank all the witnesses for their time. We have allocated around 75 minutes for this evidence session, and we will move straight to committee members’ questions. As with the previous panel, given the time constraints and the number of questions that we want to get through, members should direct their questions to specific witnesses, who should not feel that they are expected to answer every question. Any witness who wants to answer a question should indicate that by signalling to me. Professor McHarg, you can raise your hand by using the Teams function.

My colleague Monica Lennon will ask the first question.

Melissa, do you want to go first?

Your point about the university sector being not only a sector in itself but something that impacts on many other sectors relates to a question that Mark Ruskell was going to ask, so I will bring him in now.

Are you finished, Mark?

Thank you. I have two members who want to ask supplementary questions.

Other NGOs in Scotland will have heard what Mr Doris has said and might want to give their own reflections in a similar way.

We have a short supplementary from Brian Whittle before we move to Douglas Lumsden.

I think that that is for the Governments to comment on, to be honest, and we will have the minister before us next week. However, Feja, you had your hand up and wanted to say something briefly.

Thank you. Melissa, you talked about restrictions earlier. Is there anything that you want to add in response to Douglas Lumsden’s questions, over and above what you have already said?

Dr Irvine, please feel free to relay any thoughts with regard to what we have just discussed when you answer Monica Lennon’s questions, which she is now going to put to you.