Brian Whittle

1 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the establishment of a Planning, Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group, and by what date it will publish the final list of group members.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Our National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Delivery Programme, published November 2022, stated that we would commence establishment and agree membership of the Planning, Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group following adoption of NPF4. NPF4 was adopted on 13 …

1 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will work with stakeholders to write the guidance documents that will accompany the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4), specifically those relating to national developments on peatland and wild land areas, and, if so, how stakeholders can participate in this process.

Answer · Tom Arthur: Our National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Delivery Programme, published November 2022, provides an overview of actions to be taken to support delivery, including the preparation of guidance documents. Our Onshore Wind Policy Statement, published December 202…

1 Feb 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress towards completion of the fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) guidance documents, and by what date these will be published.

Answer · Tom Arthur: National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) was adopted on 13 February 2023. Our NPF4 Delivery Programme, published November 2022, provides an overview of actions to be taken to support delivery, including the preparation of a number guidance documents throughout 20…

1 Feb 2023 · Portfolio Question

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the finance secretary has had with the Scottish National Investment Bank and the Bank of Scotland regarding any impact of the repayment terms of the investment in Circularity Scotland in May 2022 on the timetable for the launch of the Deposit Return Scheme.

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of civil and criminal remedies available to SEPA to prosecute those that are non-compliant with the Deposit Return Scheme.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) already has a range of civil sanctions, such as fixed monetary penalties or enforcement undertakings, which it can impose as part of its enforcement of a wider range of existing environmental legislation. Civ…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that businesses seeking detailed information about how to comply with the Deposit Return Scheme consider that engagement activity by Circularity Scotland is insufficient, with requests for clarification reportedly going unanswered.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) has set up a dedicated support team which is accessible via a helpline to assist with inquiries from businesses to help them prepare for the launch of Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). Furthermore, in February CSL hosted…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Circularity Scotland, in a response to small producers raising concerns that they would not be in compliance with the Deposit Return Scheme due to the limited information provided to them, advised small producers that they should progress as much as t…

Answer · Lorna Slater: As the Regulator for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is responsible for enforcing the scheme. SEPA has agreed that, where there are clearly evidenced operational challenges, they will take a proportion…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that Circularity Scotland has not given any indication of when its portal will reopen, following initial registration, for producers to make amendments to the stock-keeping units, dimensions or weights of their products, in order to remain in com…

Answer · Lorna Slater: The producer registration remains open for producers to register ( https://circularityscotland.com/producers/registration/ ). Any producers who have not yet registered are encouraged to do so and can upload product details as part of the registration proce…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that continued uncertainty over the detail of producer agreements could compromise the enforceability of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Answer · Lorna Slater: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14615 on 6 March 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committee…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that Circularity Scotland is unable to provide detailed guidance on compliance with the Deposit Return Scheme ahead of the producer registration deadline.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is the regulator for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme. SEPA has agreed that, where there are clearly evidenced operational challenges, they will take a proportionate approach to compliance. They have committe…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Circularity Scotland, in light of the reported views by producers that the Deposit Return Scheme Registration process should be extended due to insufficient detail within the text of the agreements they will be required to sign.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government maintains regular contact with Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) at both Ministerial and official levels. Business can continue to register with CSL. If they are concerned about being able to meet their obligations, including those who h…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what engagement it has had with Circularity Scotland, in light of the reported concerns of producers that the Deposit Return Scheme registration process for glass is too detailed to complete before the registration deadline.  

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Scottish Government meets regularly with Circularity Scotland at Ministerial and official levels. If businesses have any concerns or questions regarding DRS, they should contact Circularity Scotland in the first instance. They can do this via their webs…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that large numbers of small businesses are still not aware of the requirements of the Deposit Return Scheme due to a lack of effective marketing and engagement within the food and drink sector.  

Answer · Lorna Slater: Any business with questions or concerns about registration should contact Circularity Scotland (CSL) for advice and guidance. They can do this via their website or their dedicated helpline. CSL has ongoing communications with businesses to raise awareness an…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that guidance on what would be considered a GS1 compliant barcode within the Deposit Return Scheme has not yet been published; what discussions it has had with (a) Circularity Scotland and (b) SEPA regarding this, and when it expects this guidanc…

Answer · Lorna Slater: Circularity Scotland set out the requirement to use a GS1 compliant barcode in 2021 and this has not changed – it is an international standard. The ability to use a UK-wide EAN barcode within Scotland’s DRS was confirmed by SEPA in summer 2022. Guidance on th…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns raised by producers regarding the open-ended nature of the producer agreement and the potential for Circularity Scotland, as a private company, to increase the supplementary producer fee to cover any costs arising from its or producers' decisions…

Answer · Lorna Slater: In line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, and just like similar schemes around the world, Scotland’s DRS is being delivered and funded by industry, led by the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland (CSL). Any future changes in the producer fee will be…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that drink producers and retailers are considering reducing product ranges in Scotland due to Circularity Scotland’s reported failure to provide necessary information to producers ahead of the registration deadline, and concerns about inadvertently not bei…

Answer · Lorna Slater: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14338 on 8 February 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commi…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether specific funding has been allocated to SEPA to allow it to prosecute any retailers in breach of Deposit Return Scheme regulations.

Answer · Lorna Slater: SEPA is the scheme regulator but cannot prosecute retailers as this responsibility rests with Police Scotland and their counterparts elsewhere in the UK. As such, they have not been allocated funding for this purpose.

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that the use of Circularity Scotland, a private company, as the managing entity for the Deposit Return Scheme, will result in less transparency and reduced parliamentary scrutiny of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Circularity Scotland Ltd is a private company which was established by industry with the purpose of administering the Deposit Return Scheme. This model is in line with standard practice in other schemes across Europe. This provision was agreed by the Scottis…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns that Biffa, the Deposit Return Scheme’s logistics partner, has not published a transitional plan for the transfer of waste collection services, and what discussions it has had with (a) Circularity Scotland, (b) SEPA and (c) Biffa regarding this.

Answer · Lorna Slater: In line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, and just like similar schemes around the world, Scotland’s DRS is being delivered and funded by industry, led by the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland (CSL). It is for CSL and Biffa to determine how best to…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what oversight mechanisms it has in place to monitor the decisions made by Circularity Scotland in respect of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Scotland’s deposit return scheme is being delivered and funded by industry, led by the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland. This model is in line with standard practice in other schemes across Europe. The Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulati…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that producers and retailers are receiving conflicting information regarding the Deposit Return Scheme from SEPA and Circularity Scotland.

Answer · Lorna Slater: If businesses have any concerns or questions regarding DRS, they should contact Circularity Scotland in the first instance. They can do this via their website or their dedicated helpline.

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that producers are considering seeking legal advice over Circularity Scotland’s reported inability to provide necessary information about the Deposit Return Scheme, creating a barrier to registration, and thus impacting their ability to sell in Scotland.

Answer · Lorna Slater:  I urge producers to begin their registration for the scheme if they haven’t already and contact the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland, for advice and guidance. CSL has recently run a series of information workshops across the country to enable bus…

30 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reported concerns raised by stakeholders that guidance on glass weight tolerance for the Deposit Return Scheme has not yet been published; what discussions it has had with Circularity Scotland regarding this, and when it expects this guidance to be published.

Answer · Lorna Slater: Circularity Scotland issued the final RVM specification in November 2022. Separately some producers have highlighted that their containers have higher than usual variation in weight. Circularity Scotland have recently met with RVM vendors and drinks producers…

27 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the anticipated impact on (a) public health, particularly in relation to cases of Lyme disease and (b) biodiversity and the wider environment, of its decision to cease funding for chemical or mechanised control of bracken through the Agri-Environment Climat…

Answer · Mairi Gougeon: To maximise the benefits of the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) in mitigating climate change, the 2023 round will target support for agri-environment, organics and slurry storage applications. This approach will focus on enabling options within the sch…

24 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13230 by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022, whether it will provide further detail of the scale of the financial impact on those local authorities not expected to receive a net financial benefit from the introduction of Deposit Return Scheme, and whe…

Answer · Lorna Slater: Calculations are based on commercially sensitive data provided in confidence to Zero Waste Scotland by local authorities. Therefore, we will not provide any additional information. Zero Waste Scotland has engaged with three local authorities which are modell…

24 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the availability of suitably qualified (a) engineers and (b) technicians able to provide maintenance and repair services for reverse vending machines, as part of the delivery of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Answer · Lorna Slater: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14291 on 7 February 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…

24 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13230 by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022, according to the modelling done by Zero Waste Scotland, how long on average after the initial investments would local authorities expect to experience a net financial benefit.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The modelling followed the legislative timeframe of achieving 90% capture of single use drinks containers by 2025. The full benefits would be realised at that time. An indication at 80% performance was also provided to enable mapping of the scheme performance…

24 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-13162 by Lorna Slater on 20 December 2022, whether it will provide a list of the industry stakeholders, including trade associations and businesses, that the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity has met with to discuss the im…

Answer · Lorna Slater: All Ministerial meetings with stakeholders are proactively published on the Scottish Government website at: - https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/

24 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the suitability of available skills training pathways to enable reverse vending machine maintenance and repair services to employ suitably qualified (a) engineers and (b) technicians, including (i) formal education and (ii) apprenticeships routes.

Answer · Lorna Slater: The Deposit Return Scheme is an industry-led scheme, delivered by industry, led by the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland Ltd. The Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations were laid in 2020 and businesses have now had three years to prepare for …

24 Jan 2023 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the suitability of the Scottish supply chain to support the manufacture of (a) reverse vending machines and (b) component parts, as part of the delivery of the Deposit Return Scheme.

Answer · Lorna Slater: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14291 on 7 February 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…