Question reference: S6W-13427
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 21 December 2022
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Current status: Answered by Lorna Slater on 19 January 2023
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken by the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity and the Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport to understand (a) the combined impact that minimum unit pricing and the Deposit Return Scheme could have on consumers habits and (b) whether any increase in product costs could lead to a switch by consumers from lower strength, lower volume products to higher strength, higher volume products that are cheaper.
Answer
The deposit will be fully returnable and retailers will be required to display information clearly about returns. Under the Deposit Return Scheme it is expected that most people will use returned deposits to cover future deposits on drinks containers.
Further work is currently underway to ensure that the interactions between Minimum Unit Price and the Deposit Return Scheme continue to be understood as the scheme evolves and kept under review, including once DRS launches on 16 August this year.