A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland: Final Business Regulatory Impact Assessment

3. Consultation

3.1 Consultation Within Government

35. As the Scottish Government's delivery partner for DRS, Zero Waste Scotland has engaged with a number of public organisations.

36. Police Scotland and SEPA have been consulted on issues relating to fraud and cross-border consumer purchasing habits, while Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and The Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) have been consulted on issues relating to hygiene and the storage and transport of empty containers. Zero Waste Scotland has also been in discussions with Scottish Enterprise and COSLA. The Programme Board established to support the policy-development for DRS included representation from Highlands and Island Enterprise and a local authority Chief Executive.

37. As set out above, during the Parliamentary process for the DRS Regulations in spring 2020, the Scottish Government committed to reviewing the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of DRS. In line with this commitment, and in light of the additional impact of EU Exit, a Gateway Review 0: Strategic Assessment was carried out from 14-16 June 2021 with a follow-up Assurance of Action Plan on 21-23 September 2021.

38. A Gateway Review 0 is a programme-only review that sets the programme in the wider policy or corporate context. This review investigates the direction and planned outcomes of the programme, together with the progress of its constituent projects. In addition, the Gateway Review into DRS had a particular remit to examine the delivery schedule for DRS, especially in light of the impact of COVID-19. It was carried out by two external advisers accredited by the Infrastructure Projects Authority to lead Gateway Reviews; the reviewers are independent of the Scottish Government.

39. The Gateway Reviewers interviewed a cross-section of key stakeholders with a particular focus on activities lying on the critical path for delivery of DRS, such as establishment of the scheme's infrastructure and implementation of the regulatory function. This included representatives from the Scottish Government, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, and Zero Waste Scotland.

3.2 Public Consultation

40. Between 27 June and 25 September 2018, the Scottish Government undertook a public consultation to explore options for establishing a DRS in Scotland. The consultation paper, A Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland, discussed the key features of a scheme and set out different options for its operation – without putting forward a preferred option. The consultation contained 54 questions seeking views on:

• System components
• The potential risks and opportunities associated with deposit return schemes
• Cooperation with the UK Government
• An interim equalities impact assessment (EQIA)

41. The analysis was based on 3,215 responses. These comprised responses from 159 organisations, 2,008 individuals and 1,048 postcard campaign respondents submitted by supporters of the Have You Got The Bottle (HYGTB) campaign.

42. Organisational respondents included a wide range of public, private and third sector organisations based in Scotland, elsewhere in the UK, and overseas. The largest categories of organisational respondents were: public sector organisations (25); food and drink producers (24); environmental, conservation, food and health charities (22); retail, vending and retail representative bodies (20); recycling and waste management organisations (16); and packaging manufacturers (16).

43. A full analysis of the consultation responses and key messages was published on 21st February 2019.

44. A further public consultation on the draft Regulations to establish the scheme ran from 10 September 2019 to 10 December 2019. The consultation consisted of 7 open questions, each seeking views on a Part of the Regulations.

45. 147 responses were received through the exercise, 113 of which were from organisations and 34 from individuals. An analysis of the consultation was published alongside the final Regulations.

3.3 Business Consultation

46. During the initial policy-development process for DRS, the 12 businesses in Table 1 below were selected as being a representative cross-section of businesses along the supply chain that will be influenced by the introduction of a Scottish DRS. A questionnaire was sent out to each company in advance of face-to-face interviews which were undertaken in March and April 2018. Individual responses were recorded.

47. In addition, consultation responses were received from key business representatives during the public consultation periods as discussed in the above section.

48. As per 3.1 above, in June 2021 the Gateway Reviewers interviewed a cross-section of key stakeholders with a particular focus on activities lying on the critical path for delivery of DRS, such as establishment of the scheme's infrastructure and implementation of the regulatory function; this included a range of business representatives. To supplement the findings of the review, the Scottish Government met with representatives of a wide range of businesses to understand the impact of the pandemic on them and to ensure that their views were taken into account, in respect of the timetable and other changes to the Regulations. A full list of businesses interviewed by the Gateway Reviewers and/or Scottish Government during this process is at Table 1A below.