Circular economy and waste route map to 2030: business and regulatory impact assessment

Public Consultation

28. The proposals were subject to a public consultation which ran from 30 May 2022 to 22 August 2022 and informed further development and refinement of the interventions.^[21] A second public consultation ran from 18 January 2024 to 15 March 2024 on an updated draft version of the CEWRM. The analysis of the second consultation responses was published in August 2024.^[22] The second consultation contained 24 questions about the proposals, comprising eight closed and 16 open questions. Questions asked respondents to share their views on the priority and further actions outlined under each of the four strategic aims in the CEWRM, as well as on the impact assessments and Strategic Environmental Assessment report that have been published by the Scottish Government.

29. In total, 156 consultation responses were received. Most were submitted via the online consultation platform, Citizen Space. Those received in an alternative format, for example an email or PDF document, were reviewed separately by the research team.

30. Individuals provided 43 responses to the consultation; the remaining 113 were from organisations. To aid analysis, each organisation was assigned a sector or type. The largest share of organisational responses came from retail and packaging organisations, the third sector, and local authorities. The number and profile of responses is very similar to the previous 2022 consultation which received 160 responses from 48 individuals (30%) and 112 organisations (70%). Table 1 below shows the types of organisations which responded to the second public consultation, also giving an indication of the types of businesses which were engaged with in this format.

31. The public consultation also contained questions about what further evidence should be considered in the four impact assessments. The BRIA was specifically consulted on in Question 12: “Please provide any further information or evidence that should be considered in the accompanying Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment”.

32. The most common theme among the 32 responses to Q12 was for a desire for further consideration of the financial impact of the proposals on businesses. A few respondents highlighted the lack of data, cost impact assessments and targets within the BRIA and called for more detailed evidence to be included. Others requested more specific consideration of the impact of the proposals on different types of businesses in terms of size, sector and rurality, stressing that a ‘one size fits all’ approach is not sufficient.

33. While the British Standards Institution welcomed the Scottish Government’s commitment to working collaboratively with the business community on the CEWRM, the British Holiday and Home Parks Association felt there was a lack of transparency regarding which businesses and business groups have been consulted throughout the process. Some respondents called for greater collaboration with SMEs and industry bodies in order to fully explore and understand the potential impact of the measures on businesses. A number of respondents, including British Holiday and Home Parks Association and Scottish Wholesale Association volunteered to engage with the Scottish Government on further development of the BRIA. SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK Limited suggested that a cross-sector approach to the ongoing development of the BRIA should be adopted.

34. As with the other impact assessments, a small number felt that no further information or evidence should be considered within the BRIA.