Fergus Ewing

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether, during the policy development period and leading up to the publication of the Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland Final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA), published in December 2021, the proposed Deposit Return Scheme was referred for consideration to the Scottish …

Answer · Lorna Slater: The centralised BRIA quality assurance services provided by the Better Regulation team has ceased, their last meeting was in February 2018.

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its proposed Deposit Return Scheme, whether it will publish all (a) correspondence, (b) communication and (c) other documents between it and Circularity Scotland related to any conflict of opinion on the (i) detail of estimates of the number of (A) items to be recycled, (B) re…

Answer · Lorna Slater: The position taken by Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) in respect of container and return point numbers, as I understand it, is set out at Annex F of the amended Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) published in D…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Full Business and Regulatory Impact, published in July 2019, whether it will provide full details of the evidence base it used for its estimates for the number of (a) items in scope, which was estimated at 1.7 billion containers and (…

Answer · Lorna Slater: The information presented in the version of the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) published in July 2019 has been superseded. Please refer to the amended Final BRIA published in December 2021 which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.scot/p…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether allowance has been made in the calculation of the costs of the Deposit Return Scheme for the VAT that will be levied and, if this is the case, whether it can provide the details of how such costs have been incorporated into its calculation, and, if this is not the case, what the …

Answer · Lorna Slater: The economic modelling in the amended Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme does not account for any VAT being levied on deposits. That is in line with best practice as set out in HM Treasury’s Green Book ( https://as…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its proposed Deposit Return Scheme, what its position is on (a) the estimates by Circularity Scotland that (i) 2.7 billion items would require to be recycled, (ii) 37,000 return points are needed and (iii) 6,000 Reverse Vending Machines are required and (b) whether its conclus…

Answer · Lorna Slater: As set out in Annex F to the amended Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) for our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), published on 15 December 2021, we consider that there is a degree of uncertainty attached to the figures proposed by Circularity Scotlan…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether Audit Scotland has been consulted on (a) any potential risks of the Scottish Government's approach to the proposed Deposit Return Scheme and (b) the reliability of the estimates and figures on which the 2019 and 2021 BRIAs are based, and, if this is the case, whether it can provi…

Answer · Lorna Slater: Audit Scotland provides advice and support to ensure that public money is spent properly, efficiently, and effectively. Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is financed and administered by industry under the principles of producer responsibility, therefore …

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its proposed Deposit Return Scheme, what consideration (a) it and (b) Circularity Scotland has given to the potential impact on distributers and wholesalers in Scotland of a need for two separate SKU’s (Stock Keeping Units), in particular in relation to (i) cost and (ii) …

Answer · Lorna Slater: Stock keeping arrangements related to Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) are a matter for industry to determine; our Regulations do not mandate a separate Scottish label or barcode for in-scope containers.

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding its proposed Deposit Return Scheme, whether wholesalers will be permitted during the course of their normal delivery schedule to use the same lorries and vans for back haul of the collection, and uplift of glass bottles, plastic containers and aluminium tins; whether SEPA has …

Answer · Lorna Slater: Since July 2021 SEPA has advised that the same vehicle that is used for delivery can be used for the backhaul of scheme packaging provided that:the haulier is a registered waste carrier ;where backhaul is carried out in a vehicle used to transport fresh foo…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the proposed Deposit Return Scheme may contravene the provisions on non-discrimination of goods, which are included in the UK Internal Market Act 2020.

Answer · Lorna Slater: We are analysing the text of the Act to understand how it could interact with Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), but in order to assess impact fully we need to understand the UK Government’s intentions for its own DRS. We have not yet seen their response…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to its plans to include glass packaging in a Deposit Return Scheme, whether it has considered the impact on overall glass recycling rates of splitting glass into two waste streams for material collected manually and using reverse vending machines.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 requires those handling waste to ensure that it is handled in a fashion that promotes high-value recycling. Return points, producers and Circularity Scotland, when handling returned scheme packaging, inclu…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the Valpak report, Deposit Return Schemes for Drinks Containers, and its findings that a majority of people prefer a kerbside collection scheme to be used for recycling.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Public support for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is high. Zero Waste Scotland’s consumer research indicates that 71% of the public support the introduction of DRS. Kerbside collection remains important since it enables people to recycle non-scheme…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many businesses in the SME sector it anticipates will cease doing business in Scotland as a result of any additional costs of compliance with the proposed Deposit Return Scheme, such as the bar code and labelling requirements.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Participation of small producers is vital to the success of the scheme and we believe we have taken their needs into consideration in designing DRS. We have consulted extensively with businesses of all sizes that will be affected by the implementation of Sco…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comments, regarding potential benefits for industry from its Deposit Return Scheme, by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity at the meeting of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 25 January 2022, that the scheme "will generate about …

Answer · Lorna Slater: The figure is based on Circularity Scotland Ltd’s assessment of its expected annual turnover as scheme administrator once it is in steady state. We anticipate that implementation and operation of DRS will generate a range of business and employment opportuni…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government which items of glass recyclate that are currently capable of being disposed of in existing local authority schemes will not be capable of being recycled in its Deposit Return Scheme; what arrangements will be in place to continue the recycling of such items, and what proportion of the to…

Answer · Lorna Slater: There is a duty in the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 for local authorities to provide a collection for glass. The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is for single-use drinks containers; local authorities will continue to collect all other glass not captured by D…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity at the meeting of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 25 January 2022 that "Circularity Scotland intends the reverse vending machines [RVMs] that it advises businesses to install to be…

Answer · Lorna Slater: Return Point operators are responsible for ensuring that the Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) that they use meet the specifications supplied by the Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL). The costs of operating a Return Point, including the RVM,…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on (a) how many reverse vending machines (RVMs) it estimates will be used in its Deposit Return Scheme, (b) the most recent evidence it has regarding the costs of each machine, (c) which companies in Scotland can supply these machines, and how many, (d) …

Answer · Lorna Slater: The number of Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) that will be used in Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), was estimated at 3,021. This information can be found in Table 2 on page 19 of the revised Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA). The BRI…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity at the meeting of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 25 January 2022 that the annual cost of operating Circularity Scotland “in a steady state” is estimated in the full business case …

Answer · Lorna Slater: Information relating to the ‘steady state’ costs can be found in Section 3.3 of the Full Business Case Addendum which was published on 16 March 2020 and can be downloaded here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-full-business-ca…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it did not include in either the business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) of 2019 or the Final BRIA of 2021 of the Deposit Return Scheme an estimate of the total annual cost of loss of revenue for retailers that is attributable to the loss of floor space required …

Answer · Lorna Slater: As stated in the Final Business Regulatory Impact Assessment, it is anticipated that floor space implications associated with the installation of Reverse Vending Machines (RVM) are likely to be modest. Generally, it is expected that high-volume retailers will…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the Deposit Return Scheme and the estimates it made of the costs of loss of revenue to retailers caused by the loss of space necessary to accommodate a reverse vending machine (RVM), whether it will state (a) what specific evidence it obtained from Envipco whom it cites a…

Answer · Lorna Slater: The most up to date information available regarding the impact of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme on retailers, including information about the use of Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) can be found in the amended Final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) of 2019 and the Final BRIA of 2021 of the Deposit Return Scheme and section 4.1 on calculating the costs and benefits of recycling, whether it will provide the detailed calculations for the “associated costs and benefit…

Answer · Lorna Slater: The model used to inform that BRIA deals with local authorities as a collective group and it is therefore not possible to provide detailed calculations for individual local authority costs and benefits in relation to recycling. You can view the full report he…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the estimated cost of fraud of the Deposit Return Scheme reduced from £108 million in the business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) of 2019 to £74.3 million in the Final BRIA of 2021.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Final business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) of 2021 has a figure for fraud of £108 million, not £74.3 million. You can find details in Table 2 which can be downloaded here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/deposit-return-scheme-scotland-final…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the comment by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity at the meeting of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 25 January 2022 that it will "begin to build counting and sorting centres in August 2022", how many of each of these two types of …

Answer · Lorna Slater: Circularity Scotland Ltd, the industry-led Scheme Administrator for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), is responsible for determining the number and location of counting and sorting centres and the associated staffing requirements. Under the producer r…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the current remuneration is, including any pension or other entitlements, for (a) the (i) chair, (ii) chief executive officer and (iii) chief financial officer and (b) each of the independent directors of Circularity Scotland; whether this will remain the same in each of the next tw…

Answer · Lorna Slater: As a private business, the remuneration of Circularity Scotland Ltd staff is not shared with the Scottish Government, nor is it subject to Ministerial approval.

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what the basis is for the assumption that 3,021 reverse vending machines (RVM) will be required for the Deposit Return Scheme, as shown in Table 2 of the business and regulatory impact assessment (BRIA) of 2019 and the Final BRIA of 2021, and how many RVMs Circularity Scotland estimates …

Answer · Lorna Slater: The number of reverse vending machines (RVMs) was based on analysis of data that identified retail locations in Scotland, the store type and the sales area. This estimated that there would be approximately 3,021 automatic return points using RVMs and 14,386 m…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in relation to the proposals for its Deposit Return Scheme and recyclate collected from retailers that do not use reverse vending machines but instead collect items manually, how retailers will be protected against underpayment; how the system will operate to prevent fraud; whether ther…

Answer · Lorna Slater: Retailers are entitled to claim a reasonable handling fee and be reimbursed for the deposit for each processed in-scope container. The Scheme Administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL), will provide retailers with appropriate guidance which will aid retail…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity's comment to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee, on 25 January 2022, that glass is not to be mechanically crushed as part of its Deposit Return Scheme, whether this replaces any previous plans for suc…

Answer · Lorna Slater: It has never been the intention that glass collected through our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) be crushed, recognising that this would not be compatible with closed-loop recycling. Therefore the environmental and economic modelling underpinning the Business and…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that waste captured by the Deposit Return Scheme could be processed outside Scotland, what assessment it has made of whether the economic benefits of a closed-loop glass recycling system would accrue to businesses based in Scotland.

Answer · Lorna Slater: I am not aware of any reports that glass captured through our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) could be processed outside Scotland. There is a significant reprocessing industry for glass in Scotland. While it will be for Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) as scheme a…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether consideration has been given to the potential impact of the proposed Deposit Return Scheme on the wholesale sector, and, in light of the information contained in table 1, page 12, paragraph 46 of the Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland Final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessme…

Answer · Lorna Slater: We have kept the wholesale sector closely involved in discussions relating to the development and implementation of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), in particular through engagement with the Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA). As table 1, page 12, p…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, regarding the impact of the proposed Deposit Return Scheme on producers in Scotland, how many producers it estimates are operating in Scotland, and of those, how many it consulted directly.

Answer · Lorna Slater: We estimate that 4,100 businesses will qualify as producers for the purposes of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). We have extensively consulted the drinks producer sector during the development and implementation of our DRS. Our Implementation Advisory…

1 Mar 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that re-processing of recycled material captured in Scotland may not occur in Scotland due to a lack of facilities, what its position is on the likely impact of the Deposit Return Scheme on the quality and quantity of recycled glass that is available to manufacturers…

Answer · Lorna Slater: I am not aware of any reports that glass captured through our Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) could be processed outside Scotland. As set out in the answer to question S6W-07104 on 18 March 2022, DRS will significantly increase the quantity and quality of glass …