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The Council of Economic Advisers has held two meetings and three conference calls since March 2020 (as of 2 March 2021).

Unlike council meetings, conference calls are typically only attended by council members and officials. They are used to provide members with relevant updates, to follow up and discuss actions from Council meetings, and to agree forward meeting plans.

The following table provides the dates and Ministerial attendance at council meetings in 2020 alongside the conference calls by members and officials also:

Zero Waste Scotland recently commissioned research into textiles reprocessing in Scotland which will be published on its website in due course. The report will provide quantitative and qualitative evidence of the extent of current waste textile processing activities in Scotland.

In 2015 Scottish Enterprise conducted “Research into the Viability and Commercial Opportunities of Growing and Using Nettle Fibres in Scotland” which was published on the Textiles Scotland website . The report did not generate significant interest and there were no Scottish textiles companies interested in either investing in processing or buying nettle fibres at the time.

The concept of using nettles and similar home grown environmentally sustainable fibres continues to be an area of interest. However, in order to further explore the possibility of nettle fibre production in Scotland there is a need for industry partners to come forward to facilitate trials.

Work relating to circular economy and textiles is delivered by Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS). It is not possible to provide exact funding figures as textiles is a cross-cutting workstream and does not have a separate budget heading. However, the following textile related projects have been awarded funding through the Circular Economy Investment Fund administered by ZWS:

• In 2018 Cirkel was awarded £15,000 to support its online home linen subscription service that changes the current model of consumption from ownership to leasing.
• In 2020 LEAP was awarded £164,976for a project focusing on the recovery of haberdashery from waste textiles allowing supply of these high-quality recovered items and materials direct to the market.
• In 2020 Graceful Changes was awarded £19,900 for its ethical and organic baby and toddler clothing rental service.

ZWS has also supported 19 small and medium-sized enterprises with tailored consultancy support through the Circular Economy Business Support Service in order to help develop circular textiles propositions. These organisations span fashion, sportswear, furniture and homeware sectors. Each support service provided to these organisations had a value of approximately £15,000.

In addition, ZWS supported the creation of circular economy textiles initiatives including the UK’s Sustainable Clothing Action Plan and Love Your Clothes campaign (through WRAP). Support included:

• ZWS developed and ran the textiles and apparel design fund which supported 5 textile design businesses (£5000 each) to adopt a circular economy concept in a new product or collection (2015-2016).
• ZWS worked with the Scottish Leather & Textiles Association to engage and equip the textile industry to develop circular / closed loop manufacturing approaches.
• ZWS delivered a series of masterclasses to develop skills relating to circular economy application in the textiles sector (e.g. design for disassembly, fibre processing, zero waste pattern design).

Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) leads on a number of initiatives and events encouraging the sustainable purchasing of clothes by consumers. It is not possible to provide exact resourcing and funding figures as this area of work is often part of wider waste prevention initiatives. Examples include:

• Workshops about reuse or general waste prevention that includes textiles (10 so far in 2020-21 and 12 in 2019-20).
• Campaigns such as Pass it on Week and European Week for Waste Reduction which encourage organisations to hold textiles related initiatives and events – including swap shops, donation drives, repair sessions etc.
• Social media engagement, articles and general tips are available on the Zero Waste Scotland website and associated social media platforms.

ZWS also manage the which is a quality standard for second-hand stores in Scotland and is awarded to stores that meet high standards in safety, cleanliness and service. The national certification scheme for second-hand stores includes a number of charity clothes stores as well as stores which offer recycling and upcycling services for items including textiles.

The position in relation to each part of the question is as follows:

‎ (a) Residual waste treatment analysis

Zero Waste Scotland’s 2017 work on residual waste treatment analysis did not ultimately result in a published report. However, Zero Waste Scotland’s ongoing support to local authorities has included discussions and investigation of residual waste treatment options. Subsequently, the Scottish Government commissioned the ‘Waste Markets Study’ in 2019; and Zero Waste Scotland recently produced a report, which is being revised following stakeholder feedback, on the carbon impacts of different residual treatment options.

The waste markets study is available at this link: and Zero Waste Scotland’s report, the climate change impact of burning municipal waste in Scotland, is available here:

(b) Quantifying liquid food waste from food and drink manufacture

This report has not been published because of challenges with anonymisation of confidential shared commercial data; however, it has informed ongoing consideration of food waste prevention issues. A key conclusion was that the current scope of the Scottish food waste prevention target for manufacturing (which excludes liquid disposal) is appropriate in focusing intervention efforts most effectively for the time being.

(c) Insight into consumer food waste behaviours

Two representative online surveys were carried out by Zero Waste Scotland from 12 February to 2 March 2020; one focused on consumption behaviours, the other on disposal behaviours and included ‘In-home food behaviours and food waste’ as a dedicated topic. The publication of this analysis has been delayed due to reprioritisation of work during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, results are informing ongoing intervention and communication development.

(d) Development of household sampling methodology for compositional analysis

The Waste Data Strategy Board has agreed a proposed methodology to undertake compositional analysis of household waste across Scotland. This will be made available on the Zero Waste Scotland website shortly.

(e) Reuse and repair sector stock control options

This report has not been placed on the Zero Waste Scotland website, but it has been shared with relevant stakeholders via Community Resources Network Scotland (CRNS), who were the primary audience. It has also informed programme support to third sector reuse organisations. A copy of the report can be obtained from Zero Waste Scotland.

(f) Reuse and repair shared logistics options

This report was initially placed in the public domain as supporting content for the Zero Waste Scotland grant scheme Funding to Support Re-use & Repair Hub Trials . The report has since been published through the as a separate document.

The Winter Support Fund was announced on 30 November 2020. This included funding to extend the Connecting Scotland programme to 5,000 socially isolated older or disabled people.

Applications are made by organisations who apply on behalf of usually a number of individuals they identify as eligible. The Local Authority and SCVO then assess each request to check for eligibility. Approved awards are then distributed by SCVO to the applying organisations for onward distribution to individuals recipients.

A first round of applications for up to 2,000 iPads ran from 4 to 18 December, aiming for delivery during January. A second round with up to 3,000 iPads ran concurrently and closed on 18 January 2020.

Applications received by 18 December have been processed, and deliveries were made in January to 70 projects which will provide 883 iPads to individuals. Decisions on a number of larger applications were deferred to January to ensure a level playing field between smaller and larger organisations as the pre-Christmas Covid measures disproportionality affected smaller organisations ability to respond.

Organisations awarded during the second round have started the contracting stage and delivery of devices will begin in February once contracting has completed.

All 5,000 devices will be awarded across both application rounds.

The Scottish Budget 2021-22 delivers an unprecedented reduction in the Basic Property Rate (poundage) mid-revaluation to 49p, the lowest poundage in the UK. All properties with rateable values over £51,000, and £95,000, respectively are liable for a supplement on top of the poundage, delivering an Intermediate Property Rate (50.3p) and Higher Property Rate (51.6p).

The Scottish Budget 2021-22 also commits to extending the COVID-19 relief for properties in the retail, hospitality, leisure and aviation sectors for at least three months. Therefore, unlike in other parts of the UK, eligible Retail, Hospitality and Leisure properties in Scotland will pay no rates irrespective of rateable value until at least 30 June 2021.

Should the UK Government bring forward an extension to their equivalent Retail Hospitality Leisure (RHL) relief that generates consequential funding, Ministers will match the extension period as part of a tailored package of business support measures. I recently wrote to the Chancellor to urge the UK Government to deliver an extension to their scheme, and provide the certainty businesses need.

699 applications were received for Phase 2 Round 1. Of these applications 529 were successful, amounting to a total of 17,452 devices.

Delivery of devices awarded through Phase 2 of the programme began in December 2020. To date 10,685 devices have been delivered to successful organisations as part of Phase 2.

Since the Connecting Scotland programme launched in May 2020, 20,076 devices have been delivered.