Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government assesses and monitors a range of risks relating to the delivery of the Deposit Return Scheme in Scotland and takes appropriate action.

Circularity Scotland is now in administration and the Scottish Government is considering the next steps in accordance with the Deposit and Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020.

We remain committed to the delivery of the Deposit Return Scheme but as stated in Parliament on 7 th June, this will not now launch until October 2025 at the earliest due to the UK Governments 11 th hour intervention through their decision on the Internal Market Act exclusion.

All Ministerial Engagements, travel and gifts received are proactively published within 3 months in line with the Scottish Ministerial Code . I refer the member to the following link: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Given that labelling, including barcodes, is a reserved issue and therefore requirements for barcodes and labels were not part of the regulations covering Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme, we have not previously engaged with GS1 UK, who are a company dealing with barcodes.

However, I have asked officials to reach out to GS1 UK to offer to meet with them.

There are currently three stakeholder groups that are chaired by the Scottish Government, these are; Deposit Return Scheme - Retailers Sector Group Meeting, Deposit Return Scheme - Hospitality Sector Group Meeting, and Deposit Return Scheme - Producer Sector Group Meeting. There are also plans for a separate Local Authority stakeholder group which have been delayed by recent developments.

These groups provide a platform for communication and discussion for stakeholders and maintain relationships to ensure transparent communication and that all stakeholders are inputting into the process.

Decisions remain with organisations that are best placed to make them e.g. if SEPA are responsible they will have their own decision-making process and this will be respected.

The Minister does not sit on the stakeholder groups however the Minister does receive updates from the groups.

The Minister chairs the Ministerial Strategy Assurance Group, referred to in answers to questions S6W-18537, S6W-18540 and S6W-18541 on 15 June 2023. The Ministerial Strategic Assurance Group’s purpose is to discuss issues which may need escalated following discussions at the stakeholder groups. The Ministerial Strategic Assurance Groups includes representatives who sit on the individual stakeholder groups to ensure these discussions are joined up.

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

The Scottish Government does not hold data on how much money has been raised from fixed penalties issued for the offence of littering or flytipping.

This detailed information can be obtained by contacting individual issuing authorities.

Responsibility for developing the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy sits within the remit of the Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity.

The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition has not met with any organisations regarding the consultation on a national Litter and Flytipping Strategy.

During the consultation process for the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, I attended the inaugural meeting of the Flytipping Forum, the purpose of which is to enable ongoing engagement between policy makers and stakeholders to support co-ordinated action to tackle flytipping. Membership of the Forum includes Scottish Land and Estates, National Farmers Union Scotland, Woodland Trust Scotland, Keep Scotland Beautiful and Police Scotland as well as local authority representation through a combination of CoSLA, SOLACE and further relevant networks.

I have been carefully considering responses to the consultation, and continue to engage on litter and flytipping issues as part of my engagement with local authorities, third sector organisations, community groups, and industry bodies. The Strategy will soon be published , following on from which the Flytipping Forum will be reconvened to discuss its implementation.

During the consultation process for the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, the Scottish Government convened the inaugural meeting of the Flytipping Forum, of which Police Scotland is a member and the purpose of which is to support co-ordinated action to tackle flytipping.

The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy has been co-designed in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland, Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. Furthermore, during the development of the Strategy, the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, chaired by Police Scotland, has been regularly engaged on the strategy’s progress and provided the opportunity to feedback on consultation proposals.

The Strategy will soon be published, following on from which the Flytipping Forum will be convened to discuss the strategy’s content and priority actions.

During the consultation process for the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, the Scottish Government engaged a wide range of organisations and has been carefully considering consultation responses, of which there were 978. The majority of proposals received a high level of support, one of which is to conduct an evidence review of barriers to enforcement of litter and flytipping offences. The Scottish Government has commenced this research and has ensured that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is engaged in this research project. The research findings will be published later this year.