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I will not move amendment 211.

Good morning. I will limit my comments to the probing amendment 211 in my name.

The minister has alluded to my long-term interest in all things safety. I lodged my amendment in the hope that the requirement to have regard to safety concerns can be embedded in the bill, in order to inform consumer and household behaviour with regard to, in particular, the use and safe disposal of electrical products. I firmly believe that consumer behaviour will be key to the success of the bill and its intentions.

Consumer awareness is a long-term concern of such stakeholders as trading standards officers, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the charity Electrical Safety First, which I have worked with on the amendment. Seventy-two per cent of all house fires in Scotland involve an element of electrical safety, with the majority of those fires caused by electrical products.

The bill sets out principles that call for things to be kept in use for as long as possible and it allows for target setting for the reuse of products. That is a potential problem, in that older and potentially unsafe products could be used by consumers if repairs of electrical products were undertaken by unqualified people or parts were used that might have been sourced from online or other unregulated marketplaces, thus introducing danger to the products.

We have a long-term concern about the safety of second-hand electrical products. It is also well understood and well documented that there is limited consumer awareness of the necessity for electrical products to be registered with the product manufacturer so that potential safety recalls can be communicated to consumers.

With regard to household waste, the imposing of duties on households and of target setting on local authorities could present an opportunity to address the issues emerging through the disposal of lithium-ion batteries, which have become a significant cause of fires in recent times. With the proliferation of e-bikes and e-scooters, there has been an increase in fires caused by those items, but lithium-ion batteries appear in most rechargeable products, from electrical toothbrushes to rechargeable vapes. It is really important that there is consideration for that issue somewhere in the bill, to ensure that products are safe and that consumers are kept safe. We have recently seen the impact of major fires that were caused by thermal runaway from lithium-ion batteries in waste disposal areas, which causes extreme disruption and environmental damage.

Convener, I heard the minister’s comments on the amendment. It is a probing amendment, so at this stage I will not move it, but I would like it if the minister had an opportunity to comment now on what I have had a chance to say.

That is great—thank you for that.

Stuart, do you want to comment?

I will bring Nichola back in, and I would welcome any final comments from Stuart, too.

Good morning, and a warm welcome to the 10th meeting in 2024 of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. We have received apologies from Kate Forbes.

Item 1 on our agenda is a declaration of interests. We have a change in membership and Meghan Gallacher is joining the committee, so I invite her to declare any relevant interests.

Item 2 is a decision on taking business in private. Are members content to take item 4 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Item 3 is to continue to take evidence as part of our inquiry into the review of the trade and co-operation agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom. This week, we focus on the Windsor framework, including what it means for Scotland and Scottish business and its wider implications for the forthcoming TCA review.

We are joined remotely by Stuart Anderson, head of public affairs for the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Nichola Mallon, head of trade and devolved policy at Logistics UK; and Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing Northern Ireland. I welcome you all—I know that Stuart and Stephen have both taken part in the committee’s work in the past. We have received apologies from Simon McKeever, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association, who cannot be with us this morning.

I open with a question. What has been the experience to date of the roll-out of the Windsor framework, and what do you see as the key challenges on the horizon? Perhaps Miss Mallon can start.

We move to questions from committee members.

I am sorry to stop you, Keith, but Nicola Mallon wants to come in on Neil Bibby’s points, so we will do that first. I am sorry about that.