Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 14 December 2021
As I said to Mr Golden, I welcome the member’s enthusiasm for the scheme and his desire to see it implemented as soon as possible. That represents a change in direction for the Labour Party, too. In the debate in 2020, the Labour Party shared the Conservative Party’s concerns that the 2022 date, in light of the Covid pandemic, meant that we were rushing implementation. I welcome the change of direction from Labour and their support for the quickest possible implementation of the deposit return scheme.
Scotland’s deposit return scheme will be implemented by industry, as represented by the scheme administrator, Circularity Scotland. That body represents Scotland’s producers and retailers and is a private not-for-profit organisation. Many of those retailers and producers have been particularly badly affected by Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. Our independent review concluded that Brexit and Covid-19 have had a material impact on the schedule for the delivery of the project.
Is the member really suggesting inflicting further financial penalties on Scotland’s small breweries, hospitality businesses and convenience stores for delays that are due to Brexit and Covid and that are in no way their fault? Those businesses have already had to cope with so much. I am working with Scotland’s producers and retailers to deliver one of the world’s most ambitious deposit return schemes as quickly as we possibly can under the circumstances in which we find ourselves.