Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15120 on‎ 20 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-committees/written-questions-and-answers

As stipulated under the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020, Circularity Scotland (CSL) is a private non-profit organisation and is not subject to the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. As such, no contractual obligations can be imposed.

Circularity Scotland are a private non-profit organisation and therefore decisions regarding their contracts are for them – this is entirely appropriate for a scheme that has industry responsibility at its heart. The Scottish Government does not hold information on whether Circularity Scotland has consulted with the Competitions and Markets Authority on this matter.

The Scottish Government is providing £11.6 million in grant funding to Energy Saving Trust (EST), an independent organisation working to administer the Scottish LEZ Support Fund.

The LEZ Support Fund for households is a part of this LEZ Support Fund, and does not have separate admin costs. The following table therefore represents the whole LEZ Support Fund, this similarly applies to PQ S6W-14972 and PQ S6W-14965.

The administrative costs (which include EST staffing costs) are set out below alongside the value of funds that EST are distributing and the outputs achieved.

Licensing authorities have wide discretion in granting temporary exemptions or temporary licences within the powers of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 and the Licensing Order.

Temporary licences of up to six weeks are permitted under the 1982 Act. The Licensing Order also makes provision for licensing authorities to grant temporary exemptions on application for a specified single continuous period not exceeding 6 weeks in any period of 12 months. Licensing authorities can make the temporary exemptions process light touch by offering a reduced fee, shorter application form or not applying some of the mandatory licence conditions.

These powers give licensing authorities the flexibility to cater for home sharing arrangements or large local events through the provision of short-term let accommodation.

The final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) and Full Business Case (FBC) Stage 1 Addendum, published on 16 March 2020, represent the Scottish Government’s final assessment of the costs and benefits associated with DRS, at that time, prior to implementation.

The Scottish Government is aware of the importance of rural bus services and is committed, in conjunction with operators and local authorities, to looking at ways of improving services. I convened the Bus Taskforce to bring key players in the sector together to make bus travel a more attractive choice for passengers through joint commitments to reform and improve bus services.

The Scottish Government provided £223m in emergency funding to support bus services during the pandemic and the Scottish Budget for 2022-23 allocation of £410m in funding for bus services and concessionary fares. The COVID recovery support for the bus sector through the Network Support Grant Plus was extended from June 2022, and again in October 2022, and due to end on 31 March 2023. The Network Support Grant Plus was always a temporary fund and extending to 31 March was to freeze fares on participating services to help people with the cost of travel over the winter.

We are supporting bus use through the Young Persons Free Bus Scheme, which means that around half of Scotland's population are now eligible for free bus travel. We continue to provide financial support for bus services to keep services more extensive and fares more affordable than would otherwise be the case. Payments are based on the distance buses are operated, which is a particular advantage in rural areas where the routes are generally longer. Funding is also provided to local authorities in their annual settlement to support services they consider socially necessary and for community transport services, which can play an important role in rural transport networks. In 2021-22 they spent £55m in this way.

Since December 2020, the Scottish Government have supported operators through our Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus and Scottish Zero Emission Bus schemes, to acquire 548 new, zero emission buses and supporting infrastructure with awards totalling almost £113m. In addition, the Zero Emission Bus Market Transition Scheme, worth £500k, was announced on 10 August 2022 to help organisations to understand the steps required to replace their bus fleet with zero emission alternatives.

The Scottish Government has a number of retail operations such as staff canteens that sell drinks containers and therefore, like other organisations, is working with Circularity Scotland Limited (CSL) to prepare for the launch of Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in August.

Transport Scotland is currently developing a detailed programme and procurement strategy to deliver the improvements to the Old Military Road as quickly as possible. It is expected that these works will be carried out on a phased basis starting later this year. Once this work is complete I will share with the A83 Taskforce the estimated timescale for delivering Phase 1 of the medium-term solution. I share the urgency communities and businesses place in maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route, and remain absolutely committed to ensuring continuity of access to Argyll and Bute so that the region remains open for business.

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) Regulations state that any return point operator must retain scheme packaging for collection by, or on behalf of, a producer or a scheme administrator.