Seòmar agus comataidhean

The commitment to establish a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers was set out through the 2017-18 Programme for Government and a public consultation seeking views on the design of that scheme concluded in September 2018. That consultation highlighted widespread agreement that a well-run and appropriately targeted DRS could provide opportunities in relation to improving the environment, changing people’s attitudes to recycling and littering, and building the circular economy. It also provided detailed feedback on key elements of any scheme design. Ministers will take account of the views expressed as they work to finalise the design of a DRS for Scotland in the coming months.

Forest Research undertakes research on the impacts of forestry co-product harvesting, such as brash removal and has published guidance to aid site selection for suitable operations. This guidance can be found at the following website: https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/biomass-energy-resources/fuel/woodfuel-production-and-supply/woodfuel-production/producing-biomass-fuels-from-forestry/ .

The Scottish Government relies on data produced by The Forest Research Agency, which is responsible for collecting definitive data for the GB forestry sector. This data does not currently include data on forestry co-product harvesting.

Realising the full economic potential of this sector requires collaboration, knowledge transfer and partnerships across the public and private sectors. The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre was established with funding from Scottish Government (through Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council) and has a specific remit to deliver knowledge and expertise between industry and academia. It currently has an active portfolio of eighteen industry-led projects.

Realising the full economic potential of this sector requires collaboration, knowledge transfer and partnerships across the public and private sectors. The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre was established with funding from Scottish Government (through Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council) and has a specific remit to deliver knowledge and expertise between industry and academia. It currently has an active portfolio of eighteen industry-led projects. Through its SMART Scotland, Regional Selective Assistance and Research & Development grants, Scottish Enterprise has provided support to seven projects in the last three years, with a total value of £2.2m.

The recently updated National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology sets out 6 resource streams which were identified as holding the greatest potential to further develop Scotland’s bio-based economy, These are: Whisky co-products, Municipal solid wastes and food processing by-products, Agricultural biomass, Forestry biomass, Marine biomass and Carbon dioxide. Further investigations of these streams are taking place.

The National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology, first published in 2013 and refreshed in 2019, notes the progress that has been made and the variety of funding streams that contribute to the success of the sector. This includes the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre, funded by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Funding Council, investment of over £50m for innovation and £25m of private investment. In addition, there are a number of partner organisations including Zero Waste Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, and the Forestry Commission who provide expertise and knowledge transfer.

Zero Waste Scotland undertook a review of bioresource arisings (waste, by-product and agricultural residues) and their availability across Scotland. The findings are published in the Biorefining Potential for Scotland report 2017. This maps materials and their characteristics (e.g. protein, carbohydrate) arising in Local Authority area on a weight basis. The work was undertaken to help deliver the Biorefinery Roadmap for Scotland to inform future investment opportunities.

Alongside this report, a dataset was created to provide data (the Scottish Bioresource Mapping Tool) managed by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre.

The Biorefining Potential for Scotland report published in 2017 by Zero Waste Scotland highlights the scale of the opportunity for the Scottish biorefinery sector.

There are at least 27 million tonnes of bioresources arising every year in Scotland which could be turned into high value chemicals, biofuels and other renewable products across many industries.

The largest current use of Scotland’s “waste” biomass is for anaerobic digestion into “bio-gas”, a natural gas alternative, which was calculated to have a value of around £60 million in 2015. The second largest current use of “waste” bio-mass is the bio-diesel plant run by Argent Energy with an estimated 2015 sales value of £26 million. Other potential opportunities are in development.

While there is no specific criminal offence of “pet theft”, the existing common law offence of theft offers robust protection against those who engage in this type of offending behaviour, with the court retaining a wide judicial discretion in sentencing decisions to reflect the individual facts and circumstances of each case.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a new specific criminal offence of “pet theft”. However, we keep the criminal law under review.

Dog theft is dealt with under the common law of theft. In any given case, courts have discretion in sentencing decisions to reflect the individual facts and circumstances of each case, with maximum penalties available all the way up to life imprisonment. In 2016 the Scottish Government made it compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped and for contact details to be kept up to date. This was to ensure the swift return of lost and stolen dogs. It is standard practice for enforcement agencies to scan dogs coming into their care.