Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

It is good news that even more Scots are back in paid employment, while unemployment has fallen further.

The economic aftershocks of covid and the war in Ukraine mean real pressures in the cost of living right around the world. The way to tackle this in the longer term is to grow our economy and create high-skilled, high-paid jobs, and we are helping by also providing a £22 billion support package, including boosting the wages of the lowest paid and helping people with energy costs.

Throughout these challenging times, the UK Government stands ready to do what is needed to support people right across the UK.

Background

Figures from the ONS show Scotland’s unemployment rate has decreased by 1.2 p.p. over the past year to 3.2 per cent. The employment rate robustly increased by 1.4 p.p. between January and March 2022.

The Traffic Commissioner found that the company was essentially acting as a front for the disqualified operator Jones Waste Services Ltd, with a similar disregard for safe and legal operating practices.

The commissioner disqualified CCS Waste Ltd’s previous transport manager, Christopher Staples, indefinitely, after he had found that Mr Staples had “failed to exercise continuous and effective management to the extent that he did not realise that operations had commenced. When he did, he brazenly offered himself as a flag of convenience transport manager, a name on the licence to give the outward (but false) impression that a transport manager was in charge.”

The commissioner criticised as particularly “damning” an email exchange between Shaun McCarron and Christopher Staples in which Mr Staples said that he charged “£500 per month for my name to be on [the licence].”

Denton also heard that Staples’ successor as transport manager, Lori Wheeldon, had in effect been prevented by the operator from taking up her responsibilities, although she should have tried harder to do so. This was of particular concern because he had made it quite clear in his decision on Jones Waste Services Ltd that if Shaun McCarron was involved with any future application he must engage the services of a competent transport manager. Mr McCarron had in effect ignored this stipulation by the device of “employing” two successive transport managers who were given absolutely no responsibilities in the business and who were virtually never physically present. Mr. Denton concluded: “He clearly treated the post of transport manager as an inconvenience which I (and the law) had imposed upon the company and which was not to be taken seriously. The result was, unsurprisingly, a simple continuation of all the shortcomings of the previous, revoked, Jones Waste licence.”

The commissioner disqualified both CCS Waste Ltd and Shaun McCarron from holding an operator’s licence for three years.

Further details can be found here.

After reviewing more than 130 comments and scrutinising evidence, the Environment Agency is ‘minded to’ issue a permit variation to add mechanical sorting and an energy recovery facility to an existing site off Langhurstwood Road, Horsham, which is operated by Britaniacrest Recycling Limited.

Michael Turner, Area Environment Manager for the Environment Agency, said:

We have carefully considered all of the documents provided by Britaniacrest Recycling Limited as well as relevant matters raised by members of the public. The Environment Agency is satisfied that the appropriate measures are in place to operate the energy recovery facility without causing harm to the environment or human health.

Before we make a final decision, we would like to invite members of the public to read our draft decision document and permit variation and let us know of any further information relating to any potential impact on the environment or public health you would like us to consider.

Two online documents have been produced which can be commented on as part of the consultation: the draft decision document and the draft permit variation. The draft decision document explains the Environment Agency’s thought process and how it has taken on board the comments received in the first consultation. The draft permit variation outlines the conditions the operator would have to meet.

Only issues covered by the environmental permit can be considered in this consultation. All relevant comments will be reviewed before a final decision is made whether to issue an environmental permit variation.