The Scottish government was “utterly irresponsible” in the way it attempted to implement its bottle return scheme, a former UK government minister has claimed.
Giving evidence at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Friday, former Scottish secretary Lord Alister Jack said the Scottish government had withheld “commercial information” from businesses about a risk the deposit return scheme (DRS) would be blocked.
Lord Jack was Scottish secretary when the UK government refused to grant the DRS an exemption for glass bottles under the Internal Market Act (IMA).
This led to the Scottish government changing its plans for the scheme in 2023.
A UK-wide DRS is planned but it is not expected to begin before 2027.
Biffa Waste Services is suing the Scottish government, seeking £166m of reparations over the decision to delay the scheme.
Lord Jack said he was “appalled” by a letter sent to firms about the scheme by then circular economy minister Lorna Slater in May 2022, which he said “misled” businesses about the true commercial picture.
“I am staggered that a letter was produced by officials and signed by a minister and sent out to companies that were investing their shareholders money or their own money – and lots of it – and not knowing the inherent risks of the whole picture,” he said.
He added: “It was, for me, irresponsible not to tell companies that are spending money what the whole story is, and explain to them the risks.
“There was a high level of risk and it was utterly irresponsible to send this letter, and that’s my opinion.”
Read more:
Lorna Slater gave ’emphatic’ assurance about DRS, court told
Lord Jack said the letters were sent after the government had been made aware it would need to apply for an exclusion from the IMA, which he claimed had been made clear by the UK…
