Now ‘petulant’ Slater set to DUMP her ‘Green dream’ bottle scheme

...just hours after UK Ministers stepped in to SAVE it by giving it the go-ahead!

LORNA Slater sensationally threatened to scrap Scotland’s bottle recycling scheme last night in ‘petulant’ defiance of the UK Government – sparking an extraordinary constitutional row.

The Green Minister has long campaigned to establish a deposit return scheme (DRS) in Scotland – and demanded Westminster make an Internal Market Act exemption to allow it to go ahead north of the Border.

On Friday, Westminster Ministers agreed a temporary exemption to allow a version of the DRS to be trialled.

The only conditions were that glass be excluded from the scheme – because it is already widely recycled – and that the Scottish DRS should be regarded as a pilot for a similar scheme to be rolled out across Britain.

However, the concessionary move sparked outrage among the SNP/Scottish Green coalition who claimed the conditions were an insult to the Scottish parliament and democracy.

Incredibly, Scottish Greens co-leader Ms Slater – who has previously hailed the recycling scheme a ‘big step forward’ in tackling the scourge of litter – then said she would consider binning it completely rather than work with Westminster to implement the project across the UK.

Describing the UK Government’s offer as an attempt to ‘sabotage Scotland’s deposit return scheme by forcing us to remove glass bottles’,

‘Her botched handling of the DRS has caused chaos’

she added: ‘We are now going to have to look very seriously at where this leaves the viability of the Scottish scheme.’

Critics, however, said her comments suggested she was more interested in stoking a constitutional row than improving recycling.

Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said: ‘While the main interest of the SNP-Greens is to stoke up constitutional grievance, the UK Government have listened to the concerns from Scottish businesses by stepping in to clear up Lorna Slater’s mess.

‘Her botched handling of the scheme has caused chaos and fear among manufacturers, retailers and other organisations who have been hammered with huge costs.’

He added: ‘Rather than petulantly trying to pick a fight, the SNP and Greens must now accept this help to create a deposit return scheme that actually works for the people of Scotland.’

Legislation to introduce the DRS in Scotland was approved by Holyrood in 2020, but the Scottish Government only applied to Westminster for an exemption from the UK Internal Market Act (IMA) in March this year.

The exemption is needed as it protects against cross-border trade barriers and divergence in how businesses are treated across the four nations of the UK.

On Friday Ministers Alister Jack, Michael Gove, and Therese Coffey jointly agreed to give a time-limited exemption from the IMA until a UK-wide scheme is operational.

One of the key conditions is that glass, which will not be part of the scheme to be introduced in other parts of the UK, is excluded from the Scottish system.

Processes will also need to be the same, including barcodes and labelling, meaning customers would eventually be able to return empty containers in any part of the UK regardless of where they have purchased the product.

Writing in today’s Scottish Mail on Sunday, Mr Jack: ‘The UK Government and the devolved administrations must work together to achieve our shared ambition of increasing recycling rates without punishing consumers or creating unnecessary burdens for business. Our proposals do just that.’

But SNP and Scottish Green politicians reacted with fury to the UK Government’s offer.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘They’re not just trying to scupper the DRS – they’re trying to undermine devolution. We’ve seen it multiple times.

‘Not only is it bad in terms of devolution and self government, it’s really poor for the environment. If we don’t include glass that’s 600 million bottles that won’t be moved from our streets, our beaches and our parks.’

Ms Slater said the Scottish parliament had been so undermined by the proposal, she was ready to scrap the scheme altogether. She said: ‘Once again the UK Government has shown utter disregard for devolution. Scottish Ministers received the UK Government’s decision letter at 10pm on a Friday night, more than 12 hours after its contents were briefed to press. This is treating the Scottish parliament with contempt.

‘Despite discussions over the last two years this is an eleventh hour attempt by the UK Government to sabotage Scotland’s deposit return scheme by forcing us to remove glass bottles. This is at odds with all the evidence that says the biggest benefits, economically, financially and environmentally, are from including glass.

‘We are now going to have to look very seriously at where this leaves the viability of the Scottish scheme and talk to businesses, delivery partners and other organisations over the coming days and weeks.’

Nationalist MSP Keith Brown claimed the move showed Tory ‘disregard of Scottish democracy’, saying: ‘The Tories have created a poison pill to shamelessly undermine Scotland’s DRS legislation. It is even doubtful whether they truly want to see it enacted.’

A UK Government spokesman said it remained ‘unwavering’ in its commitment to ‘improving the environment, while also upholding the UK’s internal market’.

The spokesman added: ‘Deposit return schemes need to be consistent across the UK and this is the best way to provide a simple and effective system.’

‘Accept help and create something that works’

SHAMELESS doesn’t even begin to cover it.

As it became increasingly clear the Scottish Government had failed to properly prepare for the introduction of a deposit return scheme for drinks containers, SNP and Green Ministers intensified their attacks on Westminster.

And while those politicians shrieked, taxpayer-funded spin doctors were deployed to allege the UK government had deliberately obstructed the scheme.

All of that heat and thunder was a deliberate attempt to deflect from the reality which is that Green Minister Lorna Slater has made a mess of delivering the DRS.

Thanks to Ms Slater’s incompetence, plans to introduce the scheme had been postponed until next spring but, even with that delay, it was not clear whether it would be ready to go under the new timetable.

Late on Friday, the UK Government threw Ms Slater and her colleagues a lifeline.

A temporary exemption from the Internal Market Act – introduced to ensure harmonious trading arrangements across the UK – will be granted and Scotland’s DRS scheme may be run as a pilot – with glass bottles excluded.

Predictably, the Nationalists reacted with tiresome anger.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘It’s their way or the highway. That’s not respecting devolution.’

This line was echoed by his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, who claimed the situation meant independence was necessary.

Worse still, Ms Slater, in a perfect example of throwing the toys out the pram, now threatens to scrap the scheme she has championed for so long.

All of this petulance shows a Nationalist establishment more concerned with creating problems than finding solutions.

Certain indisputable facts must not be ignored when considering who is to blame for the failure of the DRS to launch this year.

The first is that, even under the powers of devolution, the Scottish Government had no right to establish a DRS without the agreement of Westminster.

This was not a matter of ‘power grabs’ or ‘democracy denial’ or whatever other hysterical phrase Nationalist Ministers might express. It was simply a process underpinned by legislation.

It was never a secret to Scottish Ministers that an exemption from the Internal Market Act would be necessary in order for them to proceed.

The second fact is that Ms Slater failed to formally request that exemption until this year.

She may attack the UK Government all she wishes but none of that changes the truth that Ms Slater caused delays in the process.

Nor can the UK Government be blamed for Ms Slater’s abject failure to rally small and medium sized drinks producers behind the DRS.

She is entirely responsible for the poor communication and downright absence of answers to key questions which shook the faith of those companies who will be compelled to participate.

Humza Yousaf asserts the UK Government is not respecting devolution.

The truth is that it is Scottish Ministers who have treated the devolution settlement with contempt, seeking to bulldoze through the scheme without caring about its impact on drinks producers trading across the UK.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack has made a perfectly reasonable offer. Rather than trying to turn this into another constitutional fight, the Scottish Government should seize this opportunity.

Mr Jack has not destroyed the DRS, he has suggested a way of saving it.

Perhaps, if he is able to think calmly about this, Humza Yousaf will see that both governments working together on a scheme fit for purpose for every part of the UK makes perfect sense.

It would also make perfect sense for the First Minister to remove Lorna Slater from her position. Her incompetence is at the root of the current chaos.