Scottish Government 'utterly Irresponsible' Over Bottle Return Scheme, Court Told - Beritaja

The Scottish authorities was "utterly irresponsible" successful the measurement it attempted to instrumentality its vessel return scheme, a erstwhile UK authorities curate has claimed.

Giving grounds astatine the Court of Session successful Edinburgh connected Friday, erstwhile Scottish caput Lord Alister Jack said the Scottish authorities had withheld "commercial information" from businesses about a consequence the deposit return strategy (DRS) would beryllium blocked.

Lord Jack was Scottish caput erstwhile the UK authorities refused to assistance the DRS an exemption for solid bottles nether the Internal Market Act (IMA).

This led to the Scottish authorities changing its plans for the strategy successful 2023.

A UK-wide DRS is planned but it is not expected to statesman earlier 2027.

Biffa Waste Services is suing the Scottish government, seeking £166m of reparations complete the determination to hold the scheme.

Lord Jack said he was "appalled" by a missive sent to firms about the strategy by past information system curate Lorna Slater successful May 2022, which he said "misled" businesses about the existent commercialized picture.

"I americium staggered that a missive was produced by officials and signed by a curate and sent retired to companies that were investing their shareholders money aliases their ain money - and tons of it - and not knowing the inherent risks of the full picture," he said.

He added: "It was, for me, irresponsible not to show companies that are spending money what the full communicative is, and explicate to them the risks.

"There was a precocious level of consequence and it was utterly irresponsible to nonstop this letter, and that's my opinion."

Read more:
Lorna Slater gave 'emphatic' assurance about DRS, tribunal told

Lord Jack said the letters were sent aft the authorities had been made alert it would request to use for an removal from the IMA, which he claimed had been made clear by the UK authorities successful March 2022.

He said an removal from the IMA had a "high bar" and required effect assessments to beryllium carried out.

However, he said the authorities had done "nothing" to beforehand this activity aliases to pass businesses of the risks earlier it formally applied for an removal successful March 2023.

As soon arsenic they knew this was required, he said "they should person sharpened up, sewage their removal petition in, told their partners it was what they were doing, told their partner companies location was monolithic commercialized consequence for them".

Lord Jack said that arsenic Scottish caput he had a number of "concerns" about the scheme, including the effect it would person connected companies and consumers, and its effect connected ostentation astatine a clip of the costs of surviving crisis.

He said much than 1,000 businesses and stakeholders had written to him "saying it was going to earnestly effect and harm their business, supermarkets telling maine it was going to harm their business, consumers and truthful on".

He dismissed the proposal his concerns were politically motivated, insisting it was "beholden" to him arsenic Scottish caput to "ensure our businesses and our consumers were protected".

The Conservative adjacent said the truth the Scottish authorities was still moving retired really the strategy would activity erstwhile it applied for an IMA removal successful 2023 was "farcical".

He said: "It was a drama of errors. Farcical. The full point was farcical."