 The next item of business is a statement by Lorna Slater on Scotland's deposit return scheme. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement, and so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on minister Lorna Slater around 10 minutes, please minister. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. When I updated Parliament last month, I underlined the Scottish Government's commitment to delivering an operational deposit return scheme as soon as practically possible. Since then, we have continued to work closely with both Circularity Scotland and industry to agree a final timescale and clear milestones for delivery. Members have also had the opportunity to be briefed by Circularity Scotland on implementation. When Parliament passed legislation to establish deposit return last year, we all hoped that we would be further along the path to introduction than we are. As a result of the pandemic and the uncertainties caused by Brexit, an independent review of the scheme was commissioned, and we have published that today. The review concluded that July 2022 implementation date was not achievable. The likelihood of a July to September 2023 delivery was possible but with significant risk to achievement. The review also identified the following actions. Reaching a critical path with key stakeholders for delivery of a viable product by the agreed start date. Reaching a decision from the UK Government with respect to the VAT treatment of deposits. Reviewing the governance structure to reflect the implementation phase and to establish an objective assurance regime aligned with key milestones. Work with industry to develop and resolve practical issues to online sales. Since taking up my position as Minister for Circular Economy, I have worked intensively to put the DRS scheme back on track. My background is in engineering project management and I have made it my priority to develop and agree a project plan to deliver the scheme that I, the industry and stakeholders can have confidence in. Implementing the deposit return scheme is a massive national undertaking involving contracts with more than 4,000 producers and tens of thousands of return points to manage more than 2 billion containers per annum with a total turnover of around £500 million. It is essential that the scheme is a success and not just in the short term but for decades to come. Taking into account the independent advice that we have received and input from stakeholders, I can announce today that the work to implement Scotland and the UK's first deposit return scheme will conclude with the scheme's launch on 16 August 2023. However, work will intensify immediately and, as I will mention shortly, I hope that we will see the scheme in operation on a voluntary basis in some premises before then. Our DRS will be among the most environmentally ambitious and accessible in Europe, including tens of thousands of return points for plastic, metal and glass containers, as well as pick-ups for online deliveries. Though some have asked for a reduction in scope of the scheme, I can also confirm today that this will not happen. Having an ambitious deposit return scheme that can equitably cover both online and high street sales brings challenges, but I am also confident that industry can deliver solutions to those, particularly given the extra time that they now have. My officials will host a workshop with SEPA and retailers in early 2022 to focus on the details of online take-back. Despite the delay, I can also confirm that producers will be required to meet a 90 per cent collection target by the second year of operation rather than the third as previously planned. That will ensure that the scheme is maximising its environmental impact from 2024, as before. I, Circularity Scotland and the Scottish Government, are keen to support businesses in their planning to make sure that this implementation date happens. Retailers are playing an essential part of the deposit return scheme, as most of us will use their stores to return the containers and receive the deposit back. I know from speaking to them that they are strongly committed to the DRS being a success and that they have already put in a lot of time and resource to prepare for the roll-out of the scheme, and that will ramp up in the year ahead. As part of the phased implementation of DRS, a key visible milestone for consumers will be when retailers start rolling out the return infrastructure in stores from summer 2022. We are working together with the retail industry to start phasing in the use of this infrastructure on a voluntary basis from November 2022. We recognise that the needs of rural areas may be different from more populated parts of the country. I am pleased, therefore, to let you know that there will be a return scheme in place in Orkney also in November 2022, which will provide immediate benefits to the community. Regulations asking Parliament to approve the change and go live date will be laid tomorrow. We will also take this opportunity to make several smaller amendments to the 2020 regulations. In the year and a half since the regulations were passed, many organisations across the private and public sectors have been working hard to consider how DRS can best be implemented, and those have thrown up points where we accept that small changes will provide additional clarity or help to de-risk the implementation. I am looking forward to engaging with members across the chamber as we move into the scrutiny process, but I can confirm that the changes will include allowing online retailers and others selling through a distant sale to refuse to accept a return of a disproportionately large number of containers. Clarifying that, for products that are filled and sealed in a retail or hospitality setting—for example, crawlers—the person filling them will bear the responsibility for their collection. Creating a duty for wholesalers and others selling articles not intended for sale in Scotland to disclose that at the point of sale, which will help to prevent fraud, bringing SEPA's enforcement powers more into line with existing legislation. There are also a number of key milestones on the path to August 2023. By March 2022, Circularity Scotland will have signed contracts with partners to deliver its logistics, operations and IT systems. By August 2022, the public awareness campaign will be launched. In the same month, counting and sorting centres will start to be built. As I have mentioned already, retailers will start rolling out the return infrastructure in earnest from next summer, and we are working with them to start using that infrastructure on a voluntary basis from November 2022. In January 2023, Circularity Scotland and SEPA will begin the process of registering producers. In July 2023, there will be an end-to-end testing of the DRS container through the whole system. Strong and robust governance structures must be in place to oversee the scheme's implementation, recognising that, with the appointment of Circularity Scotland and the passage of legislation, responsibility for successful delivery is increasingly dependent on the actions of producers and retailers across Scotland. That is a shared endeavour, and my officials will be establishing a system-wide assurance group early next year with all those involved in delivering the scheme, so that, collectively, we can monitor, deliver and manage risks. Senior executives from the Scottish Government, Circularity Scotland and our environmental public bodies will meet regularly to review progress against milestones and take action where required. I have established a communications and engagement group led by Zero Waste Scotland to ensure that business and the public have the information that they need as we progress towards full launch. As with this year's independent review, we will ensure that external expert assurance is provided at key points. I will receive regular updates from those groups and will personally meet regularly with Circularity Scotland to discuss progress. This close oversight, coupled with the public milestones that I have laid out, gives me confidence that all organisations have the right governance arrangements in place to collectively deliver the deposit return scheme on time and in a way that works for the people and businesses of Scotland. It could not be clearer that the purpose of deposit return is environmental and not to raise revenues, so it is hugely disappointing that the UK Government is maintaining that VAT does apply. If it is not just about the additional costs that this brings, I understand from industry that there are still many details to be ironed out with the Treasury's proposal and that there are specific technical challenges that exist, for example because the VAT is not applied equally through all parts of the system. That will affect the financial flows between thousands of different actors in the scheme. We will, of course, continue to work constructively with Her Majesty's Treasury, Circularity Scotland and wider industry to ensure that a solution is put into place in a way that is workable, effective and efficient for businesses. Between now and August 2023, there is a lot of work to be done and a lot of investment to be made. I will be keeping in close contact with industry on the delivery of the key milestones as different parts of the system roll out their implementation plans. You will see in the documents that I have released today that the independent reviewers recognise the co-operation, effort and enthusiasm of all stakeholders working constructively to achieve an effective scheme. I am appealing to everyone in the chamber today to work with us to make it the best scheme possible for Scotland. The minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement and I intend to allow around 20 minutes for questions after which time we will move on to the next item of business, and it would be helpful if those members who wish to ask a question were to press the request to speak buttons now. I thank the minister for her advanced sight of her statement, but the last update on deposit return is a statement that raises more questions than it answers. We now have yet another launch date, but frankly, how can we take this seriously? Only a month ago, the minister was refusing to give a launch date after delaying the scheme for a second time. That was despite Circularity Scotland issuing a tender last month with a launch date of summer 2023. The minister has either lost control of the process or deliberately misled Parliament on the launch date in her previous statement. That comes as recycling is getting worse. Remember, deposit return is supposed to improve recycling, but the figures out last week showed that the recycling rate had dropped for the second year running, and it is now at its lowest point since 2013. If the minister is serious about launching deposit return, we need straight answers. Unfortunately, today's statement is just the same shambolic process full of excuses. There is no word on the start-up costs or how they are being funded, no word on the secretive tender process, no word on whether return vending machines will even be built in Scotland. Like the previous statement, there is little today to reassure affected businesses. There is no word on preventing fraud and bottle bank raids, no word on potential restrictions in products and no word on whether the minister has even met with affected businesses since her last statement. Businesses and public have already been marched up the hill and back again too many times, so I will ask the minister straight. Is the minister prepared to stake her professional reputation as a Government minister on this new launch date? I thank the member for the question and I thank the member again for his enthusiasm for the deposit return scheme and his keenness to see it implemented as soon as possible, especially given that the Conservative Party, when the legislation was launched in 2020, in May 2020, argued at that time for a delay due to the Covid pandemic and the unrolling situation. I would hate to accuse the member of political opportunism and sincerely welcome his change of direction that he does not want the deposit return scheme delayed. I am absolutely committed to implementing the deposit return scheme as quickly, as practically possible. The 16 August date, 2023, is, I consider, to be doable but still challenging for industry, particularly in light of the on-going pandemic. I expect the member to follow our progress and the milestones closely and I look forward to reporting back on them. I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. August 2023 will be more than two years later than the first date proposed by ministers in 2019 for the introduction of a deposit return scheme. It will be seven years after the First Minister first committed to a scheme for Scotland. The nearly 15 years since Parliament gave ministers the power to introduce such a scheme via the 2009 climate change act, businesses are still not any clearer how the scheme will work, in particular when it comes to cross-border issues, a massive issue for those in my border south Scotland region. The Government cannot even deliver a bottle return scheme when it said that it would. What chances do we have of delivering net zero by 2045 or in fact any of our continually missed climate targets? The Government's own impact assessment shows that delays would cost local Government £6 million a year and the additional costs of street cleaning, binning empty and recycling centre gate fees. At a time, the Scottish National Party Government has just proposed a £344 million real-term cut in council budgets. Who does the minister think will pay the extra bill for the Government's incompetence and delay after delay after delay? As previously, when speaking to the other member, I absolutely welcome the member's enthusiasm for the scheme and his desire to see the scheme implemented as soon as possible. That also represents a change of direction for the Labour Party who, in the debate in 2020, did share the Conservative Party's concerns that we were rushing the implementation with 2022 in light of the Covid pandemic. Again, I welcome the change of direction from Labour and the support of the quickest possible implementation of the deposit return scheme. The 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 delivery of the project. Is the member really suggesting that, inflicting further financial penalty 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. Stuart McMillan, to be followed by Liam Kerr. Thank you. Can the minister provide an update on discussions that she has had with Scottish-based engineering businesses who can play their part in supplying the equipment that will be needed for the implementation of the DRS scheme? In line with the principle of producer responsibility, it is for industry, especially Circularity Scotland Ltd, to procure the infrastructure that will be needed to run the DRS. It would not be appropriate for me to influence those discussions. However, I would note that we anticipate that the implementation and operation of the deposit return scheme will generate a range of employment opportunities in the extensive infrastructure and logistics that are required for the scheme, for example, in sorting and bulking centres. However, our ambition is also for the recycling of PET plastic that is collected as part of the scheme to be recycled here in Scotland. Liam Kerr, to be followed by Fergus Ewing. We have been told that there will be a producer fee, so will the minister release the business case containing all costs for calculating the producer fee? Can she confirm that the amount of producers will be charged? I thank the member for the question. Circularity Scotland is a private not-for-profit company. It is common in Europe for the DRS scheme administrator to be set up this way, and it is entirely appropriate that a scheme has its producer responsibility at its heart. The scheme administrator, in conjunction with industry, will be deciding on and producing that modelling that generates that fee. It is not for me to decide that, and I will remind the member that in November 2019, the Scottish Conservatives not only welcomed that industry was leading the scheme, but they actually wanted to go further and allow industry to set the deposit, which we have set, at 20 per cent. Fergus Ewing, to be followed by Mercedes Bielbaugh. Will the minister meet me and representatives of the Society of Independent Brewers, representing mostly small craft brewers? Is she aware that their calculations are that the average cost of implementing her scheme will be no less than £20,000, much of it payable two and a half to three months in advance of the start of the scheme, and that they regard her scheme as so complex, diabolically complex, that they are contemplating abandoning selling some of their ranges in Scotland? What will she do to prevent her scheme driving those small, excellent Scottish brewery businesses out of their own market? I thank the member for his question, and I share his concern with small businesses in Scotland and making sure to support them. It is one of the reasons for the extensive work that we have done to choose what we consider to be an ambitious but workable date for the scheme. It is so important that small businesses are supported during this difficult time. The business case for the deposit return scheme rests on the principle of producer responsibility. Those who produce the waste that is littered on our beaches and in our parks pay their part to make sure that that can be cleaned up and prevented. That is the primary purpose of the deposit return scheme. I have read and responded to letters from small breweries and the brewing industry, and I am doing my best to support them and support Circularity Scotland to implement the scheme successfully and to make sure that Scotland's businesses can thrive. I call Mercedes Bialba, who is joining us remotely, to be followed by Kenneth Gibson. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. My colleague Colin Smyth has already outlined the significant cost to local government and the environment that will be caused by this delay. Someone has to pay for the cost of this delay. The minister is aware that this is supposed to be a producer responsibility scheme. Can she tell us what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that it will be producers and not taxpayers and local authorities who will foot the bill for this 13-month delay? I appreciate her bringing this question back. I was unable to answer it the other day. As I said to the other member, we are still in the middle of the Covid pandemic and we are still dealing with the after-effects of Brexit. Those producers and retailers that you are describing, we absolutely want them to take responsibility, but we also have to be aware that they are struggling in the pandemic and with the Brexit thing. I do not think that it is right to suggest inflicting an additional financial penalty on Scotland's small breweries, hospitality businesses and convenience stores for delays that are due to Brexit and Covid and are in no way the fault of those businesses. We will implement this ambitious scheme as quickly as we practically can, which will reduce the waste and litter on our beaches. What the member is proposing would essentially amount to introducing an extended producer responsibility scheme. This will be rolled out in the UK in the years ahead. At the moment, Scotland does not have the powers to roll out an extended producer responsibility scheme on their own and we are working with the UK Government to do this for the four nations and we will be working on that going forward. Minister, a major wind distribute in my constituency with more than 50 employees, it would have been over 70 without Brexit, has expressed a number of concerns about the deposit return scheme with, for example, labelling. Different labels will have to be applied for each of the four UK home nations with thousands of lines, meaning a huge bureaucratic and expensive task, estimated to cost a quarter to a half of company profits and a sector that operates on 3 per cent margins. How will this be overcome and are discussions on going to ensure a four nations approach, not least regarding labelling? I thank the member very much for the question. First, I would note that there is no requirement in the regulations for producers to adopt a specific label as a means of preventing fraud. That is a matter for the producers and the scheme administrator to decide based on technical and commercial considerations. A number of existing schemes around the world provide flexibility, for instance, by allowing smaller producers not to use a distinct label, but to instead pay a slightly higher contribution towards the running costs of the scheme. I understand circularity Scotland-limited as scheme administrator intends to adopt that model. On the point about a four nations approach, we are absolutely open to working with the other UK Administrations on ensuring that our schemes are compatible. However, that would have to be on the basis of protecting the ambition level of Scotland's DRS. I am very excited that Scotland is going first and will be the first nation in the UK to implement the deposit return scheme. I very much hope that the rest of the UK will follow in our footsteps and implement equally ambitious schemes that would make things smoother to administer throughout the UK. I apologise to you and the minister for being slightly late into the chamber. I also congratulate the minister on her laudable effort at dressing up an embarrassing failure as some sort of triumph. She suggests that a scheme will be in place in Orkney from November next year. Can she confirm whether that will be a scheme covering all the islands or just the Orkney mainland? Is she confident that all the outstanding questions that businesses and community groups in my constituency still have will have been answered well before then? I thank the member very much for the question. The implementation in Orkney will be a community scheme that will be in place, I believe, in one town in Orkney. That will allow people to return a deposit and donate that deposit to charity. Not only will that allow the people in Orkney to interact with the scheme and return their bottles, reducing waste and litter in Orkney, it will give us good data on how people interact with the scheme, which will help us to implement the scheme going forward. Is the minister aware that the Aldi store in Bascate, in my constituency, has already begun a deposit return scheme trial asking for bottles and cans in exchange for vouchers for the store and they plan to use the feedback from customers using the service to inform plans as they prepare for the deposit return scheme roll-out in Scotland? Can the minister confirm what support the Scottish Government can offer businesses who want to trial the scheme prior to the Government's official launch date so that, as well as boosting the local economy earlier, the schemes can start up faster and go further when the time comes? I am delighted that Aldi has started this trial and, from discussions that I have had with them myself, I know that they are planning more. That outlines the enthusiasm that retailers around Scotland have for this project, and I absolutely welcome their support. As you point out, there is much to learn for the supermarkets from trialling DRSs as they prepare for the mass roll-out of the infrastructure of the deposit return scheme. There is evidently a great commercial opportunity for retailers to lead the way in promoting recycling and encouraging football, but I appreciate, too, from discussions with retailers that there may be a cost. We are working with retailers to understand how we might support earlier and faster roll-out of return schemes in advance of full implementation, including logistical support. From engagement with retailers, a firm, final and deliverable full implementation date is the key prerequisite for that, and today's announcement provides that for them. Mark Ruskell, to be followed by Dean Lockhart and Mr Ruskell, is joining us remotely. Thank you, Presiding Officer. It's clear that Scotland's DRS scheme will be a game changer. While I share the minister's frustration over the pandemic and Brexit delays, a welcome that the scope of the scheme remains one of the most ambitious in the world, despite industry pressure to dilute it, that means far more bottles will be recycled, including glass and containers bought online. The Westminster Government is developing a DRS scheme for England, although it is some years behind. Will the minister comment on whether that scheme will follow Scotland's lead in its scope? I thank the member very much for the question. The scope of the English scheme will be a matter for the UK Government to decide. However, Scotland will be the first country in the UK to have a deposit return scheme, and I hope that our level of ambition will inspire the other Governments to follow suit. Do not forget that the scope of the scheme that we are introducing here is ambitious, relative to many of the DRS schemes elsewhere that we often hear about. Latvia and Lithuania schemes, for example, include many exemptions. Our DRS will be among the most environmentally ambitious and accessible in Europe, and the inclusion of glass, which will deliver significant environmental benefits and reduce litter, is a key part of that. Last week of the net zero committee, Jim Fox of Food and Drink Scotland told the committee that some parts of the industry are ready to go, but other parts of the industry are not. Given the time delay, I assume that the minister has done a lot of analysis in this area. Can she therefore tell us what percentage of industry is not ready and what are the sub-sectors of the industry that are not ready for DRS? I thank the member for the question. The question is more about what big retailers versus the small businesses are prepared. I do not have the specific numbers for the member and can write to the member with those. The point is that the member may be referring to quotes from Coca-Cola, which were made in 2019, before the impacts of the pandemic were known. Big players have sufficient resources to implement their part of the system on a shorter period of time, but we also need to think about the small producers, convenient stores and hospitality businesses who have suffered so much in the past 18 months. It is essential that the whole scheme is a success and that we bring along all the necessary businesses, not just in the short term but for decades to come. That is why I maintain that the 16th of August 2023 is a workable but ambitious date for Scotland's deposit return scheme. I was lucky enough to be at Glencair primary and motherwell when the deposit return scheme consultation was launched by the minister in 2018. The pupils on that day were showing their collective work in reducing plastic waste and eliminating single-use plastic in their school. As some of them will now be teenagers at the launch date, what is the Scottish Government doing to engage young people and encourage their continued support and participation in the circular economy? I was lucky enough to meet with some schoolchildren during COP who talked about wanting to implement their own deposit return scheme at their school. I challenge them to erase them if they can get theirs in before mine. I would come and congratulate them in doing so. I absolutely agree that engaging with young people will be essential. Indeed, we know from other international schemes such as the one in Sweden that there is a link between reaching out to young people and the overall success of the scheme. The approach will be developed as part of the public awareness raising campaign and will be informed by Zero Waste Scotland's research about the attitudes of younger people to DRS and the best channels to reach them with the information. As I mentioned earlier, the campaign, the public awareness campaign, will be launched in August 2022, one year before the full implementation. Given that the necessary funding is still not on place and that Circularity Scotland lacks a full board and does not have a permanent CEO nor a permanent CFO, what date and which week and which month she decided to delay the scheme? Can the member repeat the question? I was not sure how it linked up with what he said. Excuse me. Minister, it would be for me to direct this. Mr Hoy, in the circumstances, could you please repeat your question? For brevity, can the minister tell Parliament on what day, of which week and which month, she decided to delay the scheme? Minister, I am not quite clear on the question. We have been working for many weeks on figuring out how to implement the scheme on the quickest possible schedule. We knew from the gateway review, which was a third-party independent review, that they felt, as I have said in my statement, that July 2022 was not a feasible date and that they suggested that July to September 2023 would be more feasible. In the time since, we have been doing the groundwork to see what the most feasible date would be. I have announced that today as 16 August 2023. The next item of business is consideration of business motion 2562, in the name of George Adam, on behalf of the parliamentary bureau, on changes to business this week. Any member who wishes to speak against the motion should press their request-to-speak button now. No member has asked to speak against the motion. Therefore, the question is that motion 2562 be agreed. Are we all agreed? The motion is therefore agreed. There are no questions to be put as a result of today's business. That concludes decision time. It is now time to move on to the next item of business, which is members' business.