Scottish Government could face £300m compensation bill over deposit return scheme delay

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Scottish Government could face a compensation bill of up to £300m after a flagship recycling initiative was delayed for a fourth time.The deposit return scheme (DRS) was supposed to boost recycling rates but became the centre of a bitter row between Holyrood and Westminster over how it should work.It was announced this week the policy would not now be implemented until October 2025 at the earliest despite businesses working towards a launch date of March next year.Shop owners yesterday threatened legal action against the Scottish Government after being left "out of pocket" by the latest delay.Mo Razzaq of the Federation of Independent Retailers said it is now seeking legal advice on the issue of compensation."We want compensated on this," the retailer and Labour councillor said."We took on this because the Scottish Government told us this was a requirement for business.

We did exactly what they asked for, and now we're the ones out of pocket."He added the Federation of Independent Retailers was now "seeking legal advice on this matter"."This wasn't down to retailers not trying to make this work, it is down to the Scottish Government not working it properly and not planning this properly."Asked if his organisation is now considering suing the Scottish Government, he said: "Yes we are.

We are working on the sums just now, we will need to look at the losses our members have suffered."The boss of Circularity Scotland, the not-for-profit company established to administer the DRS, warned this week the cost of cancelling the scheme could reach £300m.The Scottish Retail Consortium also said shops had made a financial commitment "which already runs into the tens of millions".Pete Cheema, chief executive of the Scottish