Deposit Return Scheme:
UK Internal Market Act
(Glasgow North) (SNP)
1. Whether he has had discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and
(b) the Scottish Government on an opt-out under the United
Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 for the Scottish
Government’s Deposit return scheme.
(905265)
The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
()
It is nice to see you in your place, Mr Speaker, particularly
after the FA cup weekend, when the blues beat the reds again.
Mr Speaker
As a Bolton fan, I have no worries or sympathies.
I appreciate that. It just shows that even though the reds had a
good run, in another contest the blues managed to out-class them
in the end.
I have regular discussions with Cabinet and devolved
Administration colleagues on our shared ambition to deliver the
priorities of the people of Scotland. That includes the drive to
increase recycling across the UK, while also addressing the needs
of businesses within our shared internal market for drinks
manufacturing.
I am reminded of the old adage that had the Scottish National
party invented the lightbulb, the Secretary of State would call
it a dangerous anti-candle conspiracy. The reality is that in
1997, his party’s manifesto opposed devolution. It said it
would
“create strains which could well pull apart the Union”
and
“would risk rivalry and conflict between these parliaments and
assemblies and the parliament at Westminster.”
His 2019 manifesto committed to a
Deposit return scheme
to incentivise people to recycle plastic and glass.”
Why is he working so hard to fulfil the vision of 1997, and not
his commitment of 2019?
I am tempted to reply that if I ask the question, “How many SNP
MPs does it take to change a lightbulb?” the answer is,
inevitably, “Well, we have to wait for the motorhome to arrive.”
[Interruption.] I have to try, don’t I?
On the central question, we want a Deposit
return scheme that works across the United Kingdom. The
strongest critics of the Scottish Government’s approach have been
within the Scottish Parliament and within the hon. Gentleman’s
own party. If they cannot satisfy Fergus Ewing—the Minister who
was responsible for environment policy in the Scottish Government
with such distinction for so long—they will not be able to
satisfy manufacturers, consumers and citizens in Scotland and
across the UK.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Glasgow South West)
(SNP)
Let us quote from the 2019 Conservative party manifesto—in this
job, reading fiction is a necessary evil. It says:
“We will crack down on the waste and carelessness that destroys
our natural environment and kills marine life…and introduce
a Deposit return scheme
to incentivise people to recycle plastic and glass.”
The Conservatives even put it in bold to show how serious they
were. Other than a decision to oppose and undermine devolved
Parliaments and Governments, what has changed from the manifesto,
or are the UK Government simply bottling it?
I am tempted to say that the SNP should can it on this question,
because the businesses with which the Scottish Government have
been interacting have been uniform, loud and clear in their
determination to ensure that the scheme works interoperably
across the whole United Kingdom. We have been very clear that an
exclusion can be granted, but only if the Scottish Government
work to ensure a scheme that works for all the citizens of the UK
and all the businesses of Scotland.
The First Minister of Wales has now been contacted by the UK
Government to make changes to the Welsh DRS scheme to remove
glass, which reneges on what was previously agreed in the UK
Government’s consultation with the Northern Ireland Executive.
The Welsh First Minister’s own words are:
“The English Government is the outlier here.”
Surely, instead of walking on broken glass, they could simply
recycle it?
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that wonderful reference
to the Eurythmics classic. We are both Annie Lennox fans,
whatever else may divide us.
The Scottish Government have singularly failed to carry Scottish
business, Scottish public opinion, Scottish consumers and even
their own MSPs with them. We stand ready to help—to rescue the
Scottish Government from their own folly—but that relies on the
Scottish Government doing something that they have been
singularly reluctant to do: to take a small slice of humble pie
and acknowledge that in this area, they have got things wrong.
