 The next item of business is topical questions, and at question number one, I call Stuart McMillan. Thank you, Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what assistance it can provide to the investigation into the capsizing of the tugboat MB Bighter on the River Clyde on the 24th of February. Minister, Mary McCallan. I should like to begin by extending mine and the Scottish Government as a whole our sincere sympathies and condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones in this incident. I should also like to put on record my thanks to first responders on the scene for their actions during this tragic incident. I know that the community will be in shock. I know that there will be a lot of people who wish to understand what has happened, most of all those who are mourning. The investigation of marine incidents involving the loss of vessels, it is a reserve matter led by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch of the UK Department for Transport, and they are currently investigating the cause of the capsizing of MB Bighter. Meanwhile, the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency are supporting the Port Authority to deal with any salvage and counter pollution response. Scottish Government officials have been advising the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency with respect to any potential environmental impact. Although Scottish Government officials have not been asked to support the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and its investigatory work, and as a routine, we would not be expected to do so, the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and myself have asked our officials to keep us very much up to date with all relevant developments, and I wish to offer the Scottish Government as a whole a commitment to any support that we can offer. Stuart McMillan. I thank the minister for that reply, and I want to put in record my condolences to the families that affected by this incident, and also my thank you to the emergency services for their swift response on Friday. Can the minister give an assurance that the Scottish Government will provide any assistance required to help with the recovery of the vessel? Minister. Yes, thank you, Presiding Officer, and I should say that I'm grateful to Stuart McMillan for raising this question today. I know that it's something that he will be deeply involved in with his constituency. I would absolutely confirm Scottish Government officials. We, as I said previously, have been advising that the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency with respect to that point about environmental impacts and, in turn, the Maritime and Coast Guard Agency are supporting the port authority as it works to do any counter-pollution and also to provide support to any recovery attempt. As I noted in my previous answer, that's all happening, while the Marine Accident Investigation Branch of the Department for Transport is investigating the capsizing. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and I will be keeping very closely abreast of that, and again, I reiterate any support, all support, that the Scottish Government can offer. Mr Stuart McMillan. I thank the minister for that. The minister touched upon the shock in the community, and the community is deeply shocked by that tragedy. I have many, many questions as to how that happened, and clearly that's what the investigations will, hopefully, uncover in the months ahead. Does the minister acknowledge, however, the excellent network of third sector organisations in Inverclyde who provide emotional support and also a safe space for people, and that they will be all the more important to my constituents and my community in the weeks and months ahead as the community comes to term with this tragedy? Absolutely, Presiding Officer, and Stuart McMillan makes an excellent point. On behalf of the Government, I would like to once again acknowledge the work of first responders, but equally, as Stuart McMillan highlights, the work of volunteers in the third sector in response to this tragic accident, I'd like to thank everybody involved for their efforts at this difficult time. I know that that will be on-going in the community, and I should, as well as offering to keep updated with this matter to offer any support that the Scottish Government can provide. I would also offer to keep in touch with Stuart McMillan with any helpful offers of support that the Scottish Government can give him in his constituency role. There's very little to add by way of condolence that's already been said by other members, and those benches certainly pass on our sympathies and thoughts to all those affected by this tragedy off the shores of Greenock. Last week, it brought back very painful memories of the 2007 tragedy of a similar nature, and I know that the community will pull together in these circumstances. My only other question in addition to the third sector support that is on offer to people in the community is what specific or direct immediate support could Scottish Government agencies offer the families, friends and colleagues of the two crewmen who were sadly lost. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Jamie Greene is quite right to reiterate those points as regards the family and friends who are now mourning. The Scottish Government will be very happy to offer them support and, indeed, the support networks around them who I know will be critical in the following days. I should say that we are still at a sensitive point where Police Scotland have not yet formally released the identity of the individuals, although their families have been notified. Once we get past that formality in the process, I should be very glad to understand how we can support the family and the folks who will be supporting them. On behalf of those benches, can I associate myself with the comments of Strimwick Millan and Jamie Greene on the tragedy in Greenock on Friday? I spent yesterday, indeed, at New Parrish Church in Port Glasgow, where a space for reflection had been provided to local people to ensure that they could have time to channel what is a palpable sense of grief in the local community. How will she ensure that messages about marine safety and ensuring that local people have confidence in what is happening on the river get out and about in the community and a community as close as Greenock? Paul O'Kane's use of that palpable sense of grief is absolutely right and very accurately depicts how the community will be feeling. For our part, the Scottish Government is very keen that we allow the space for the marine accident investigation branch, the part of the department for transport, to do the work that it needs to do on investigating the capsizing, but that work on the ground of supporting the community, of supporting those who will support the community, we very much see as something that we can be involved in. As I have offered to Strimwick Millan, I would extend that to Paul O'Kane to let me know how you best think that we can do that, and I should certainly be happy to consider any and all offers of support. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on when the deposit return scheme will launch. Scotland's deposit return scheme remains on course to launch on 16 August this year. I continue to urge producers to begin their registration for the scheme if they haven't already and to contact the scheme administrator Circularity Scotland as soon as possible for advice. The launch of a scheme of this complexity that every single person in Scotland will participate in isn't easy, but it is significant and it is transformational. I am grateful to businesses of all sizes that are continuing to make good progress as they prepare for launch in August of this year. Maurice Golden. I thank the minister for that answer, but however much the minister wants to pretend otherwise, the reality is that a delay is now almost inevitable at some point. The question is, do we take an informed and workable pause to rescue the scheme or wait for the Scottish Government's staggering level of incompetence to force us into a messy delay? When the deadline for producer registration runs out at midnight, we pass a point of no return. A workable pause then becomes extremely difficult because businesses will be liable for a delay, even though it is through no fault of their own. Businesses need urgent assurance, so can the minister confirm three points? How many producers have signed up? How will the minister ensure that businesses are not held liable for a delay? Has the application for an internal market exemption been officially submitted? The member is confusing today's deadline with producers becoming liabilities with the scheme. Those are two separate matters. Today's deadline is for producers to register with the scheme. The scheme would go live on August 16, and the member is confusing liabilities around that delay, which may have been discussed in the press. I can absolutely confirm that the Scottish Government has been following the agreed process to seek the exclusion of the DRS regulations from the Internal Markets Act. This has been the subject of discussion with the UK Government beginning in 2021, when we saw a broad exclusion under the Resources and Waste Common Framework, when an exclusion was agreed covering Scotland's single-use plastic regulations. We will continue to press the UK Government for a decision as soon as possible to give businesses the clarity that they need. Thank you, Presiding Officer. That was very helpful, so no other application has not been submitted. Also, for any producers out there, according to the minister, she is guaranteed that the legal agreement that you have signed with Circularity Scotland bears no liability for your business. That is on record. This morning, the minister effectively accused hundreds of businesses of having no credibility. More than 500 businesses signed an open letter to the minister calling for the scheme to be paused. As of MSPs, including myself, and having spent 10 years in the waste management sector, I will not take any lectures from the minister presiding over a car crash. Businesses are staring ruin in the face, while the minister seems to be closing her eyes. Crossing her fingers and hoping for the best. With hours left until registration closes, will the minister now see sense and extend registration to avoid catastrophe? Thank you very much. The member has misrepresented what I have said with respect to the liability in terms of today's deadline. The member also references a letter that is several weeks old from producers. The member is correct in the sense that we are still working through issues with small producers, but the letter that the member refers to is several weeks old and predates the significant work that we have done with small producers, including last week where we have listened to them. We have put in place £22 million of cash flow support, exactly what those businesses were asking for to help them with their day one costs. We have put in place a practical labelling solution, again, exactly what small importers were asking for. We continue to work with small producers to make sure that they can become fully compliant with the scheme for that August 16 launch. I have raised previously craft breweries such as Brought Nails and Troquia Brewery, but I have also raised Rhydon Aqua Glass Recycling Company, all in my constituency. Today I can add Wilner of Wines Ltd, a wine retailer in Peebles, also in my constituency. They are all at a loss with regard to the deposit return scheme. They are all confused by it. How flexible will Circularity Scotland be regarding registrations in these circumstances? Circularity Scotland is here to help. Circularity Scotland is the organisation put together by industry. MSPs will have received a letter from Circularity Scotland in the last week, which details how it is created and gives some examples of some of the industry players that were involved in creating it. Circularity Scotland is there to help businesses comply with the regulations that were passed by the Parliament in 2020. If businesses are confused if they do not understand what they need to do is contact Circularity Scotland to find out how Circularity Scotland can help them to comply. I know that every business is different and that every business has its own concerns. That is why Circularity Scotland is here to help them. I encourage them to do that. Last week, Labour proposed a delay in the introduction for small producers in the scheme, which SNP and Green MSPs voted down. Days later, the minister said that she is now actively considering such a delay. When will the minister make a decision on that request for a delay for small businesses? Is it not in the case that the minister is losing the confidence of small businesses? She has lost the confidence of whoever is going to be the next First Minister, and she is now absolutely losing control of this scheme altogether. I think that the member is not accurate there. Some of the contenders were absolutely supportive of the deposit return scheme. The deposit return scheme has significant support across the board. It was supported by parties in this chamber, and many colleagues have been pushing us to get on with it because of the environmental benefits that it delivers. The asks from small producers have been systematically working through. The number one couple of weeks ago was about the cash flow issue, which we have worked made a proposed solution on, and the labelling issue. The ask on the table right now is around that grace period, and we are seriously considering that and looking into what the implications are. I have been listening all along, and we will be continuing to work with business to bring them into compliance with our legislation as passed by this Parliament in 2020. The finance secretary, who presumably signed off the proposals around the cabinet table, has suggested that, if it implemented, it could lead to economic carnage. In light of the complete breakdown in ministerial responsibility and in order to rebuild confidence within the business community, the wider public and even in the SNP-Green coalition, will the minister now agree to pause to undertake that review and ensure that the proposals brought forward in Scotland command that confidence and can be as successful as we have seen in countries around Europe? Implementing of schemes like our deposit return scheme in Scotland is a challenge wherever that is true, and that has been true for successful schemes around the world. Before they are implemented, they look challenging, and people have to make those adjustments, but after they are in place, people are well understood. The situation where we are today is that hundreds of millions of pounds have been invested by Scottish businesses towards the launch of the programme. Over 500 jobs have either been recruited or are in the process of being recruited. The sorting centres sites have been set up, and the trucks to do the reverse logistics have been ordered. That is all in place moving towards that August 16th deadline. Those businesses that have made that substantial hundreds of millions of pounds, the jobs created in that, those businesses only get their return on investment when the scheme launches. Those businesses are counting on us to do our part to launch the scheme on August 16th, so my role here is to make sure that all businesses in Scotland are able to become compliant and participate in the scheme in a pragmatic and practical way. That is what we are doing. The issue on the table is not around the launch date. It will launch on August 16th. The issue on the table is how we support all businesses in Scotland, especially our small businesses, to fully participate in the system and therefore gain the benefits of the system. Mark Ruskell I ask the minister what impact the continued uncertainty that has been presented by the failure of the UK Government to issue an internal market act exclusion will have on the deposit return scheme. Thank you very much for the question. There is an agreed process between the UK Government and the devolved Governments for excluding certain areas from the internal market act. We first raised the need for an exclusion in 2021, and since then we have had constructive engagement between the Scottish and UK Government over the issue. Concerned by the length of time taken to reach an exclusion on 31 January, the Deputy First Minister wrote to the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for levelling up housing and communities on both the need for a UK Government decision on the application of VAT, which we have now thankfully had, and an AIMA exclusion. We now need the UK Government to issue that exclusion for Scotland's deposit return scheme from the internal market act. Given that those are long-standing plans, we will make an important contribution to our climate change and recycling targets and will give businesses the clarity that they need. I expect a decision from the UK Government on that matter as soon as possible. So today we hear from Lornaud Slater that it is all on track. Yesterday we heard from Hamza Yousif that there needs to be a pause, and Kate Forbes says that there will be carnage, three different ministers, three different positions on DRS. Can the minister confirm that section 2 of the ministerial quote has been suspended with regard to DRS? The member is not accurate with what he said with respect to what Hamza Yousif said. Hamza Yousif has mentioned the grace period that small producers have requested. As I have said to the member here, this is a matter for discussion and consideration, because I want to do everything that we can to help small producers to engage with the scheme. We are working together with industry to launch the scheme on August 16 this year. Cat Jones, director of the Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland, said that we are in the middle of a climate crisis, with litter plaguing our towns and countryside. The price of any further delay or weakening of the deposit return scheme system would, frankly, be unbearable. Does the minister agree? Yes, of course. We have to take bold and ambitious action now to tackle the climate emergency. Our deposit return scheme will launch in August and will be a major part of our efforts to reduce littering, cut emissions and build a more circular economy. Our scheme will reduce littering by a third and increase recycling rates of single-use drinks containers toward 90 per cent. The scheme will reduce CO2 emissions by 4 million tonnes over 25 years, the equivalent of taking 83,000 cars off the road. Myself, Government officials and circularities across Scotland continue to meet regularly with industry to ensure a pragmatic approach to the implementation of DRS. That concludes topical questions. The next item of business is a debate on motion 7.942, in the name of Claire Baker, on behalf of the Economy and Fair Work Committee, on retail and town centres in Scotland. I will give members a moment or two to organise themselves.