Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) said it has instructed its legal team to send a formal letter to the Scottish government, listing their concerns on the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
The trade body has refuted reports, which said that it has been planning a judicial review on the issue.
“At present we have not raised judicial review proceedings,” SGF said in a statement.
The trade body said their members have grown increasingly concerned about key challenges with the scheme design.
“We are also increasingly concerned about the approach taken by the Scottish government in developing the business case for DRS, concerned about the data and evidence used by the Scottish government to support the business case, and concerned about the parliamentary process in relation to the approval of the DRS regulations,” the statement read.
“When we receive answers from the Scottish government, we will, in consultation with our retail members, consider our response in a balanced and measured way,” it added.
The statement notes that the scheme is fundamentally based on a centrally administered return to retail system, and therefore, the effective involvement of Scotland’s 5,000 convenience stores is vital in ensuring the successful implementation of DRS.
The DRS is set to go live across Scotland on 16 August 2023, after several delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are disappointed that factually incorrect information has appeared in the press when, at all times, we have kept all our government dialogue confidential. Throughout this process SGF has acted with honesty and integrity, as such we are extremely concerned that other trade bodies have seen fit to make public statements based on this factually incorrect information,” the statement added.
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