The Scottish Government, a coalition of pro-independence SNP and Green MSPs, hopes to launch the UK’s first deposit return scheme on August 16 2023, aiming to recycle billions of bottles and cans every year.
To do so, it needs an exemption to a new post-Brexit UK trade rule: the UK Internal Market Act (UKIMA), which "preserves the UK’s internal market, providing continued certainty for people and businesses to work and trade freely across the whole of the UK".
Without an exemption, the scheme is "dead in the water", said one commentator.
Yet on Tuesday, the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Conservative MP Alister Jack, affirmed: "No UK Government ministers have received a formal request setting out the scope and rationale for a UKIM exemption for the Scottish Government's deposit return scheme.
"Should such a request be received, it will be considered by the relevant Whitehall departments. The bar for a UKIMA exemption is very high."
"This is like buying a pub without a licence," remarked the Scottish Hospitality Group.
Whisky broker Blair Bowman, whose letter warning of the scheme's "catastrophic impact" was signed by 500 business leaders, said "we are in limbo" until the request was lodged.
The Scottish minister in charge, co-leader of the Scottish Greens Lorna Slater, came out fighting in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, amid claims that the scheme was "falling apart".
The Lothian MSP, and Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, told the chamber: "Some have sought to exploit the real concerns among producers. Some have sought, and unfortunately with some success, to turn this into a political wedge issue, and they have done it using misinformation and deception.
"attachment_733728" "aligncenter" "300"] Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity Lorna Slater.
"With that in mind, let me turn to the claim that the Scottish Government has not sought an exemption from the Internal Market Act.
"Let me quote what Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland, told the House of Commons on 22 February: 'We have not been asked for an exemption under the rules of the UK IMA 2022 by the Scottish Government. No request for an exemption has come.'
"This is not true. The Scottish Government has sought that exemption since July 2021.
"So serious was the continued failure of the UK Government to come to a decision on the IMA exemption, the issue was escalated to the deputy first minister in January.
"The reply to John Swinney from the Treasury is explicit, in saying that the UK Government is working on this very question.
"So, Alister Jack has a simple question to answer: if we never asked for an exclusion, why did the UK Treasury say work was already underway?
"His claims are simply not true. His story is shifting and changing with every telling. First, we hadn't asked. Then we hadn't formally asked. And then it wasn't a ministerial request. It is all nonsense.
"It was continued failure of the UK Government to address this, before it was escalated to the deputy first minister to make sure that we have the decision in time. This is a lack of clarity that businesses in Scotland really need.
"It is time to choose where you stand," Ms Slater appealed to MSPs. "The choice is stark. On one hand, we have this Scottish Government using its devolved powers to tackle the scourge of litter on our streets. On the other, we have Alister Jack attempting to sabotage the scheme, as part of his effort to undermine devolution and Scottish democracy."
Mark Ruskell, Green MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, went further. "The revelations that we heard about the Secretary of State this afternoon are truly shocking," he said: "His comments are misleading, and he should resign."
Conservative MSP Maurice Golden, the Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, said: "The scheme has been falling apart for months. Even the economic secretary (SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Kate Forbes) says it will cause economic carnage.
"Now the Scottish Government is trying to pick a fight with the UK Government, who have confirmed to me within the past hour that no official request for an IMA exemption has been received. This is a desperate attempt to shift blame for a home made shambles."
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