- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will detail all of the responsibilities that it has in relation to the Deposit Return Scheme, which is due to launch on 16 August 2023.
Answer
The Scottish Government is responsible for drafting the regulations underpinning Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme. In addition the Scottish Government has a wider commitment to the success of the scheme carried out through stakeholder engagement and system wide assurance. It is also obliged to carry out a review of the scheme before 1 October 2026.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi McAllan on 3 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in preventing leachate from reaching water courses near Tarbolton Moss Landfill Site.
Answer
The Scottish Government is not directly responsible for the site, or its regulation.
The Scottish Government met with SEPA and the Council in January 2023 to discuss future options for the site. At this meeting it was noted that, given new information around the increased and potential ongoing costs of the leachate management strategy, and other changes of circumstances, a fresh strategy for the management of the site should be considered to enable progress.
Subject to final approval and available funding, the intention is to fund and commission a review by consultants, who will be asked to identify the possible options for remediation at the site. Scottish Government, SEPA and the Council will then meet to consider these options.
SEPA continues to monitor ongoing environmental risks at the site and completed its latest survey in January 2023. This found no significant increasing trends associated with the impact to groundwater or water courses from leachate.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 02 May 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to a recent report suggesting that current forestry grant funding rules are supporting projects that are harmful to peatlands, and which, as a result, generate more CO2 than they sequester.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 4 May 2023
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 05 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on whether small businesses will continue to be included in the Deposit Return Scheme from its launch date on 16 August 2023, in light of the First Minister's reported pledge to exempt small businesses for the first year of the scheme.
Answer
Businesses of all sizes will be included in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), which will now launch on 1 March 2024. Adjusting the launch date by over 6 months provides everyone with additional time to prepare for the launch of the scheme, with around 10 months in total to now prepare, including small businesses.
On 20 April 2023 it was announced to Parliament that any product which sells less than 5,000 articles a year in Scotland will no longer have to place a deposit on the product. This change was asked for by business and will apply to producers of all sizes. However, it will particularly help small producers, removing an estimate 44% of producers from having to place a deposit on any of their products.
The Scottish Government will continue to engage with businesses of all sizes to ensure our DRS is ready for launch on 1st March next year.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason 16 August 2023 was selected as the launch date for the Deposit Return Scheme, in light of the chief executive of Circularity Scotland reportedly stating that it had identified the period of September to October 2023 as deliverable for the scheme launch but, even then, with a degree of risk.
Answer
The 16 August 2023 launch date of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme launch date was informed by a five month assessment process. This accounted for the findings of the Gateway Review conducted in June 2021 independent advice, review of Circularity Scotland’s implementation plans, and feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. This launch date was announced in Parliament on 14 December 2021.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to raise awareness of the Deposit Return Scheme among consumers; what activities have been involved in this, and how many civil servants have been engaged in this work, broken down by salary grade.
Answer
The Deposit Return Scheme consumer campaign, which will be led by Circularity Scotland Ltd, has yet to begin. It will commence in the run up to the scheme’s launch next year to ensure consumers are aware of the launch date and how the scheme will work.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government on what basis the stakeholders interviewed as part of the gateway review into the Deposit Return Scheme were selected, and for what reason the Scottish Hospitality Group was not included.
Answer
Gateway Review teams normally speak with 12-15 interviewees including relevant commercial and external stakeholders (e.g. prime contractors and consultants). For the latest review, reviewers spoke to 45 people which included CSL, a range of producers, retailers, wholesaler, hospitality representatives, SEPA, Zero Waste Scotland and Scottish Government.
For this review, the interview team selected their chosen interviewees based on the information gathered from the previous gateway reviews as well as their understanding of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
The Scottish Government continues to engage with the Scottish Hospitality Group, and they attended a round table meeting with the First Minister and myself to discuss DRS on 20 April 2023.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on how many businesses have now registered with the Deposit Return Scheme, which is due to launch on 16 August 2023, and what work it is doing to ensure that all businesses are signed up to the scheme.
Answer
More than 670 producers responsible for more than 2 billion drinks containers have signed up with Circularity Scotland – this represents the full range of drink producers from global brands to small craft breweries and distilleries.
This means 95% of the annual total volume of products are included in scheme.
Producers must be registered by 12 January 2024 to guarantee that they will be able to sell scheme products when the scheme launches on 1 March. Those who register after this time will be able to sell scheme products when their registration is approved.
As set out in the DRS Regulations, SEPA will publish a register of all producers who are registered ahead of the scheme launching.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to excluding, or delaying the inclusion of, small businesses within the scope of the Deposit Return Scheme, which is due to launch on 16 August 2023.
Answer
All producers, regardless of size, will be included in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme from its launch on 1 March 2024. The Circular Economy Minister announced on 20 April 2023 a package of measures to simplify the scheme which will benefit businesses of all sizes but particularly small producers. All retailers which sell scheme articles will automatically be a return point but some businesses, particularly smaller retailers, may wish to apply for an exemption and can do so via Zero Waste Scotland.
- Asked by: Brian Whittle, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 April 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Lorna Slater on 2 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government which retailers it has met to discuss the Deposit Return Scheme since 1 January 2023.
Answer
The following table shows the meetings that the Scottish Government has had with retailers to discuss the Deposit Return Scheme.
Date | Meeting |
17-01-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Grocers' Federation (SGF) and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
31-01-2023 | Meeting with Grocery CEOs and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
14-02-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) and Scottish Government Officials |
15-02-2023 | Meeting with CSL, British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Chief Executives of major grocery retailers and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
27-02-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Grocers' Federation (SGF) and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
28-02-2023 | Meeting with Food and Drink stakeholders and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
01-03-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
09-03-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
16-03-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
24-03-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Scottish Government Officials |
28-03-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) Technical Committee and Scottish Government Officials |
29-03-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Scottish Government Officials |
29-03-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Grocers' Federation (SGF) and Scottish Government Officials |
30-03-2023 | Meeting with Asda and Scottish Government Officials |
31-03-2023 | Meeting with Tesco and Scottish Government Officials |
06-04-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Scottish Government Officials |
11-04-2023 | Meeting with Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) and Scottish Government Officials |
11-04-2023 | Meeting with Federation of Independent Retailers (NFRN) and Scottish Government Officials |
18-04-2023 | Meeting with multiple retailers and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
20-04-2023 | Meeting with multiple retailers, the First Minister, and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity |
21-04-2023 | Meeting with Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Scottish Government Officials |
