Finance (No. 2) Bill (Fourth sitting)

Debate between Liz Twist and Alison Thewliss

Wednesday 5th January 2022 Public Bill Committees

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

Like the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead, I remember the discussions that we had on the plastic packaging tax last April. It is with some concern that I heard the Minister say that the Government want to amend the legislation that they passed just last year so that it works with international law. It seems a wee bit of an oversight to have put through legislation that does not comply with international law, but I am glad that the Minister has brought it back in order to amend it before it comes into force.

I was also concerned by what was said about exemptions around freeports, and I wonder whether the Minister could expand on that a bit. What exactly does it mean? It is mentioned in the explanatory notes as well, but I am not quite clear what it means. If someone is importing or exporting plastics through freeports, does the tax not apply? I am quite concerned by that, because it would be a considerable loophole. It would also fly in the face of what the Scottish Government have asked the UK Government to work with them on with regards to green ports, whereby instead of being tax havens, they will actually be something that helps to support our climate change goals in Scotland. As far as I am aware, the UK Government are still holding out on any kind of agreement with the Scottish Government that allows a green port to proceed in Scotland. If the Minister has any information on that, it would be welcome.

There is a missed opportunity for the Government to table amendments to the Bill. As I said when we discussed this issue last year, the Government have not taken the opportunity to distinguish between different types of plastics. Some types of plastics, particularly PET, can be 100% recyclable in bottles that can be bought in shops. HTP, which is used in milk bottles—it is slightly opaque plastic—is less recyclable. The Government could have made distinctions in the regulations that they made around plastic. Instead of setting the level at 30%, they could allow people to recycle 100% for PET and made that the target for something that is recyclable and achievable, which would make a huge difference by incentivising companies to do more, rather than allowing them to accept the minimum that they can get away with. I urge the Government to think about any further amendments that they could make to the scheme to make it more effective and greener, and to encourage more companies to take up the opportunities that lie within it.

[Liz Twist]

I want to comment on two areas. First, I want to speak in support of new clause 17. My hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead has explained her concerns that the tax, as currently proposed, is unambitious. That, I think, is a good reason to look at reviewing the measures that are in place and seeing whether they are doing what they were expected to do but also whether they need to be strengthened in the future, so I very much support the new clause.

The other issue that I want to raise is about clause 83 itself. It is the considerable number of references in schedule 11 to further measures being taken in the future through secondary legislation. There is a striking number of them. Paragraph 3, for example, allows the commissioners to make regulations—admittedly by the affirmative procedure, which is better than the negative procedure. We see this again in paragraphs 4 and 6. Can the Minister explain to us why we need so many areas to be covered by secondary legislation? Should they not in fact be covered by the primary legislation?