Chamber and committees

The deposit return scheme is designed to be industry led and managed. The Scottish Government convened and chaired a System Wide Assurance Group with industry representatives to assess system-wide readiness and to monitor and address risks to delivery. Members were responsible for progressing common issues. Following the March 2023 gateway review we established an expanded governance framework which includes representation from a wider group of stakeholders. This includes a Ministerial Strategic Assurance Group, which sits above the already established Executive Oversight Group and Sector Specific Working Groups.

Zero Waste Scotland has advised Scottish Government that the cost of producing the report was £22,522.56.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that we are able to manage more of our own waste within Scotland. This includes making direct investments through our Recycling Improvement Fund to support greater quantity and quality of recyclate collected. To date, £53 million has been invested via the Fund, expanding domestic recycling provision and facilities. We are also supporting the UK Government to deliver its existing commitment to ban plastic waste exports to non-OECD countries, and calling for this to be extended to all countries.

In addition, to increase transparency and strengthen public confidence in local recycling services and where their recycling goes, the Circular Economy Bill intends to take powers to place a statutory duty upon collecting local authorities to report on the final end destinations of recycling collected.

Further measures to tackle waste crime in Scotland include those being developed through the Circular Economy Bill, the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy and the Integrated Authorisation Framework (IAF).

The Circular Economy Bill includes specific provisions in respect of litter and flytipping including a new penalty regime to address littering from vehicles, providing powers to SEPA and local authorities enabling them to stop and seize vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime, and strengthened householder duty of care responsibilities in relation to household waste to prevent flytipping.

The new National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, which was published on 28 June 2023, includes a focus on ensuring a more effective enforcement model to deter and robustly tackle littering and flytipping behaviour. The Strategy sets out a range of initial commitments, including raising fixed penalty notices for flytipping to £500 and exploring the possibility of raising these to £1000.

Through the IAF, which will update the waste management licensing regime in Scotland, we propose to introduce measures and provide more effective enforcement tools to tackle waste crime. Measures being considered include a broader Fit and Proper Person test, and a strengthened approach to licensing waste carriers to uphold high standards across the industry. A consultation on proposed measures will be published in due course.

Nearly every sector of the economy, from finance to chemistry to engineering, has a vital role to play as we transition to a net zero economy. This is why green skills are central to the Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation.

Ministers and officials did meet with Circularity Scotland in April, May and June. A range of issues were discussed at these meetings including matters relating to operational aspects of the Deposit Return Scheme, milestones and planning, and the impacts of the 11 th hour decision by the UK Government to grant only a partial and temporary exclusion to the Internal Market Act. All Ministerial engagements are published on the Scottish Government website .

Today I am pleased to announce to Parliament the launch of our Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture in Scotland.

This Vision sets out the Scottish Government’s long-term aspirations to 2045 for the finfish, shellfish and seaweed farming sectors, and the wider aquaculture supply chain, with the aim of ensuring our industry is sustainable, diverse, competitive and economically viable.

Scottish Aquaculture produces the UK’s biggest food export – Scottish farmed salmon. The sector is already a significant contributor to our economy through trade, employment and investment in infrastructure such as housing, broadband and harbour facilities. It supports a wide range of highly skilled and well-paid jobs across farming operations, supply chain businesses, research institutes and new innovative enterprises. Many of these jobs are located in some of Scotland’s most fragile rural and island communities where they help to underpin valuable economic development. Aligning with our Blue Economy Vision, our Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture also sets out our aspirations for the growth of other fish, seafood and seaweed aquaculture.

We have consulted widely across the sector and with other stakeholders to develop our Vision and it includes a series of outcomes that will help drive progress in key areas such as the environment and biodiversity, consenting, community benefit, business and health and welfare.

The Scottish Government will work with all stakeholders, including industry, regulators, government, enterprise agencies, academia, NGOs and communities to deliver our positive Vision for a thriving aquaculture sector in Scotland that is globally recognised as innovative, productive, successful and sustainable.

As part of deposit return scheme governance, the Scottish Government meets with a range of stakeholders via the Ministerial Assurance Group, Executive Oversight Group and Producer, Retailer and Hospitality Sectoral Groups. Many of these businesses have told us that, because of the 11th hour decision of the UK Government to impose vague and unworkable conditions on Scotland’s scheme and make progress impossible, their businesses have been impacted - both operationally and financially.

Circularity Scotland informed the Scottish Government in March 2023 that a substantial delay to the scheme would pose significant financial challenges for them. This issue was highlighted to the UK Government via a letter to the Prime Minister which urged the UK Government to agree to an exclusion from the Internal Market Act for the deposit return scheme.

Copies of the correspondence between the Scottish Government and UK Government have been published as part of an EIR and can be found on the Scottish Government website .

The Scottish Government does not hold a record of a formal notification of a material change in circumstances in relation to this matter, however as mentioned previously in my response to S6W-18498, the letter and anticipated schedule to which the member refers was in the context of a scheme launch date of July 2022.

Following an independent Gateway Review in June 2021, the Scottish Government confirmed that it would conduct a review of that go live date, with input from Circularity Scotland, industry and independent advice. Issues relating to the design and delivery of the scheme were taken in to account during the review process.

As a result of that review, the Scottish Parliament voted to move the launch date of DRS from July 2022 to August 2023. This decision made the previous request for information irrelevant due to the change in the launch date for the scheme.