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Is there any wriggle room that would allow for a phased launch? Different regulations could be considered in different parts of the UK. Is that a possibility, or are we now looking at complete alignment?

I come back to the issue of unsold consumer goods and goods that might be problematic. In its submission, the SRC talked about the difficulty of recycling mouldy clothes. That feels like a pretty niche issue, but are there other defined categories of consumer goods that can quite easily be described as problematic, so that we can include those in any later guidance?

We have had a number of submissions that refer to the importance of education and skills development. I want to get your reflections on that. Could something be put into the bill that would help to strengthen the development of that? It is an open question. I can see Cat Hay nodding. Do you want to come in? [Laughter.]

Nodding is dangerous.

Does anyone have any other comments?

Yes, I have a brief question that was prompted by the question on parliamentary scrutiny. My understanding of the DRS is that the enabling legislation was the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009, which was followed by a piece of secondary legislation that went through a very lengthy super-affirmative process in Parliament over three or four months in 2019. Were you involved at that stage? Did that process give your industry enough opportunity to contribute its views on how that scheme would look, and how does that relate to this bill and the statutory instruments that might come out of it?

That is a bit like DRS.

As the convener said, it would be ideal if we could ask the UK Government our questions. Do you have any sense that DEFRA is putting in place those steps? Is it making substantial progress towards step 1?

Will the member give way?

I point Mr Kerr to where investment in our home energy and other energy systems comes from at the moment: it is a mixture of predominantly private finance, personal finance, and investment through mortgages and housing. It will also come through public finance. That is the blend of investment that will deliver the £33 billion. I agree that it is challenging and the Government has to face that challenge, but it will lay out that pathway.

Labour has said that it will not reverse Sunak’s weakening of targets for household heating, should it form the next UK Government. That would condemn another generation to growing up in fuel poverty. I warn Labour about not jumping on to false solutions, such as hydrogen for home heating, in an attempt to surf the waves of uncertainty that have been created by the Tories. Studies have shown that hydrogen would be two to three times more expensive than heat pumps, and it would not be ready for more than a decade. That would worsen fuel poverty and it is one of the reasons why the Scottish Government is focusing the deployment of hydrogen on hard-to-abate industries instead of homes.