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That is a really interesting point, on which, if Monica Lennon will indulge me, I will go into in some detail. Under the first provision of the bill, which is on the circular economy strategy, she will note that, under section 1(5),

“The circular economy strategy must be prepared with a view to achieving consistency, so far as practicable,”

with the “climate change plan” and the “environmental policy strategy”. That is the link that brings in the just transition elements. When we develop the circular economy strategy, we must include all those elements. It is right there in the bill that we must tie those things in.

With respect to the bill’s shape, there was a target in the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill. The context is quite different here, in two ways. One is that, in the context of the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill, we were looking at Scotland’s contribution to a UK bill that already existed. There was already a target in that space, and we were looking at our piece of it. The second difference is that, with climate, there is one target, which is on carbon emissions—that is the one thing that we are looking at. In the circular economy space, there are many different metrics that could be looked at. There are consumption targets and sectoral targets—there are a lot of different things that one could look at.

When choosing to set targets, there are risks around, for example, setting targets that cover reserved matters. If the Scottish Government set targets that did not cover solely devolved matters, we would be risking setting targets that we had no control over achieving. We are in a different space with the circular economy targets, in that we are still at the cutting edge of establishing the metrics and targets, and how to measure and make progress on them. In this case, that work needs to be done in parallel with the setting of the strategy and the targets, because the science has not moved along and is not as mature as it was in the climate space. Also, there is no UK-wide legislation and targets that we are slotting into as we were with the Climate Change (Scotland) Bill.

Would any of the officials like to come in on that?

Ailsa Heine has the full details on that, but this is only one part of the enforcement regime around fly-tipping. SEPA has a separate range of civil penalties that it can issue for offences under section 33(6) of the 1990 act, including fly-tipping. Those penalties include monetary penalties of £600 and variable monetary penalties of up to £40,000, which is the maximum fine upon summary conviction for these offences. Those remain unchanged. Criminal proceedings are also possible, including conviction on indictment through a jury trial, imprisonment of up to five years and an unlimited fine.

However, fixed-penalty notices are intended for small-scale crime. A £1,000 or higher penalty would not be proportionate for the dumping of a sofa. If we are getting into serious waste crime, however, there are much more punitive measures.

At this point, I will hand over to Ailsa Heine.

That is a specific example, but when waste that has been fly-tipped can be identified, the provision in the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill would allow a fixed-penalty notice of £200 to be charged against the homeowner.

No, no—that is a good suggestion, convener. If the member would be content with that, we can certainly take the discussion out of this space, if that would be convenient.

That just shows how effectively you can scrutinise secondary legislation using the negative procedure. Well done.

Yes, absolutely—that is what the evidence tells us. The approach to implementation in Wales, which is an excellent model, is that fines are an absolute last resort. If a council has not met its targets, there is a conversation about why that is. Of the ones that did not meet their targets, only one had a fine applied to it, and even that might have been waived.

I will bring in Janet McVea.

I have not had a meeting with Amazon.

The most relevant provision in the bill in that regard relates not so much to the strategy, which absolutely could encompass those things, but to practical implementation. So much of the practical implementation will be done by our local authorities, so it is most likely that it will take effect and take shape under the provision for development of the code of practice.

I am, indeed, open minded about how we can improve any aspect of the bill—certainly, in terms of ensuring that the strategy has the effect that we want it to have. Of course, our commitment to human rights globally is strong, as you know. I look forward to discussing those potential amendments with you further.

I will give you my thoughts, then invite officials to come in. There are two points to make on that. In relation to the bill, there is an opportunity in respect of national and local authority targets, if local authorities want to address that as part of the co-design process. That could be looked at, but what would procurement with such targets look like? We would have to work out the exact details to make sure that it was feasible.

The other element, which I have discussed with Zero Waste Scotland, is entirely separate from the bill, but is part of the larger picture. We are moving into a space where we need to understand and be able to measure the circularity of a company. For example, in the fair work space, we know that companies are accredited as fair work companies and as living wage companies. Under such a procurement procedure, you would be able to say whether a company meets the requirement.

However, we do not have a circularity accreditation. One does not exist here yet and, as far as I am aware, none exists globally. All countries are working on that.