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I do not believe that it will, but we will have to see. Clearly, a lot of secondary legislation will be introduced by the UK Government. I think that we will be able, by way of regulations and the code, to put in place measures in the devolved procurement space that are at least as comprehensive as the measures that the UK Government intends to put in place. I do not think that the bill will constrain us in any way from doing anything.

Thank you very much, convener. Good morning, committee. Thanks for inviting me to give evidence.

The Scottish Government remains clear that devolving employment law and industrial relations would be the best way to protect workers’ rights in Scotland, but, while those areas remain reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament, the Scottish Government will, as it always has, seek to drive up fair work standards through all available mechanisms, including public procurement.

For example, in 2015, we introduced statutory guidance under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 on the selection of tenderers and the award of contracts to provide guidance to public bodies on how to evaluate fair work practices, including payment of the real living wage, through procurement. In October 2021, we announced a new policy of mandating payment of at least the real living wage to workers involved in Scottish Government contracts, and we have encouraged other public bodies in Scotland to follow suit. Our commitment to driving fair work through procurement has been reinforced by a range of guidance, including interactive e-learning that we published in December last year.

Public bodies across Scotland are applying fair work in contracts, and the annual report on procurement activity for 2021-22 reports that, across 95 public bodies, a combined total of more than 2,000 suppliers are committed to paying at least the real living wage and delivering regulated contracts.

The Scottish Government’s ability to act in this area is constrained by the devolution settlement. However, the Employment Rights Bill confers some limited powers on the Scottish ministers, and it is for that reason that an LCM is required for those provisions. We look forward to working closely with the UK Government to build on our fair work principles and maximise the positive impact of the Employment Rights Bill across Scotland.

Not that I have seen so far. Other colleagues are engaging on that matter, because my remit covers procurement specifically. To the best of my knowledge, there has been no movement to date, but, as you know, we are forever hopeful.

I will refer to my officials on that question, because, as you were right to say, it is quite technical. Stephen Garland, are you able to give any information?

Not that I am aware of. We are comfortable with the powers that the bill will confer on the Scottish ministers. I do not know whether my officials want to make any further comments.

We take every opportunity, including this morning and in our engagement with the UK Government, to reinforce our position that, as I said in my opening statement, the best way to protect workers’ rights in Scotland would be for employment law and industrial relations to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Standard Rate and Lower Rate) Order 2025 specifies the standard and lower rates for the Scottish landfill tax, which will apply from 1 April 2025 and are consistent with the rates set out in the Scottish budget for 2025-26, as published on 4 December last year. The order sets out that the standard rate will increase from £103.70 to £126.15 per tonne and that the lower rate, which applies to less polluting, inert materials, will increase from £3.30 to £4.05 per tonne. Members may wish to note that those rates match the United Kingdom landfill tax rates for the 2025-26 financial year, as confirmed in the October 2024 UK budget.

The Scottish Government has continued acting to avoid any potential for what is referred to as “waste tourism” emerging as a result of material differences between tax rates north and south of the border. The increased rates are intended to provide appropriate financial incentives to support the delivery of the Scottish Government’s circular economy, climate and sustainable resource goals.

I am happy to answer any questions.

I take your point. It is my understanding that the Welsh Government has done that by increasing the lower tax rate to £6.30.

The principle has always been that we do not want to get into an environment where we would be concerned about waste tourism—if you want to call it that. The whole intention is to drive behavioural change through the tax and other policy measures. The trends are clearly moving in a downward direction for both inert and non-inert waste. That is the primary policy intention.

However, there is scope for us to look at what differential rates could do. We need to assess how much additional income that would raise. In the context of the revenue that is being raised reducing significantly anyway as a consequence of the behavioural change that the tax is driving, I am not sure that any increase would make a significant difference.

I will try to get my head around that.