All amendments in this group deal with making it an offence to manufacture, as well as to supply or offer to supply, a single-use plastic product that is banned in the Schedule part of the Bill.

During Stage 2, similar amendments regarding the manufacture of single-use products were put forward and rejected by the members of the Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee. This was on the grounds that the Bill deals with prohibiting the supply of single-use plastic products. Therefore, the amendments are out of scope. The scope of the Bill was settled at its introduction and has not changed.

Now to the proposals in this group. These amendments seek to introduce changes to many sections of the Bill. Starting with amendment 43, proposed by Delyth Jewell, the purpose of this amendment is to insert a new section that creates a new offence to cover the manufacture of any of the single-use plastic products that appear in the Schedule. Amendment 44, also proposed by Delyth Jewell, is consequential to amendment 43, and, mirroring the proposed offences of supply and offer to supply, would impose the penalty of a fine for manufacturing of a banned single-use plastic product.

Amendments 45, 46, 47, also from Delyth Jewell, are also consequential to 43, and concern new powers for local authorities. They would in turn allow local authorities to investigate the proposed new offence of manufacturing, allow them to prosecute this offence and take steps to reduce the incidence of it.

Amendments 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 and 53 also concern powers for local authorities, are also from Delyth, and consequential to amendment 43. They mirror the powers already proposed in the Bill regarding the offences of supply and offer to supply with respect to the proposed offence of manufacturing as well. They would give local authorities the powers to access, inspect and seize material from premises during the course of their investigation.

Amendment 54 from Delyth Jewell, and consequential to amendment 43, would extend the Welsh Ministers’ power to make provision by regulations for civil sanctions in relation to the proposed new offence of manufacturing. Amendment 56, also from Delyth Jewell and consequential to amendment 43, would provide for the proposed new offence of manufacturing to come into force a day after the Bill received Royal Assent. Amendment 58 provides for an exemption with respect to the manufacture of carrier bags intended to be used for supply under certain exemptions, whereas amendment 59 would ban the manufacture of oxo-degradable products, in addition to their supply, by amending table 1.

Moving on, then, to the amendments in this group proposed by Janet Finch-Saunders, amendment 16 confers a duty on Welsh Ministers to maintain a list of manufacturers of single-use products in Wales, and amendment 30, consequential to this, proposes that this duty would come into force on the day after Royal Assent.

Llywydd, as I have already said, similar amendments were proposed during Stage 2 and rejected by the committee. This was because they go to the very heart of the principles underpinning this legislation, which have already been settled. This Bill focuses on the reduction of environmental harm by limiting the supply of unnecessary single-use plastic products to consumers. The manufacturing of single-use plastic products covered by the Bill largely takes place outside Wales. I do not consider there would be a substantial benefit to banning manufacture. I consider this would be an unnecessary doubling up on the resource requirements for regulators to additionally inspect the manufacturing side of the supply chain for the same products, at a time when the public funding of regulators is coming under severe pressure.

For these reasons, I cannot recommend any of these proposals. But, Llywydd, I can assure you and Members here that we have plans in place to build on our existing positive relationship with Wales-based manufacturers to look at non-legislative solutions to achieve our policy aims. This will include potential grant support, innovative schemes and extended producer responsibility. This Bill is not the only piece of legislation nor the only power that the Senedd is asked to look at in this regard and I would be happy to further engage with the Senedd on the issues at hand in relation to Wales-based manufacturers. Diolch.