Botched deposit return scheme costs Scottish Government investment bank £8m

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An investment bank set-up by the Scottish Government lost £8m last year as a result of a botched recycling scheme.The deposit return scheme (DRS) was championed by SNP and Green ministers before it was abandoned last summer following a backlash from small business owners.The failure of the policy contributed to the breakdown of the Bute House Agreement between the two parties earlier this year.It was announced today the Scottish National Investment Bank lost £14.6 million in the last financial year - including £8 million following the collapse of the company set up to administer the DRS.But the publicly-owned bank exceeded its operating costs of £16.1 million for the first time with an income of £19.3 million.

Its losses before tax was £14.6 million, down from £20.2 million the previous year.Circularity Scotland called in administrators in June last year following the decision to delay the DRS to bring it in line with a planned date for a UK-wide scheme.The final bill for the abandoned policy could be substantially higher than £8m.Recycling giant Biffa launched an action against the Scottish Government in April to recoup £150m it claimed it lost as a result of the DRS being abandoned.The company reportedly relied on personal assurances from then Green minister Lorna Slater as a reason to invest £55m in vehicles and equipment to prepare for the DRS, before she scrapped it in June 2023.The DRS was supposed to boost recycling by charging a 20p deposit on every drinks container, which would be refunded through an empties return.Responding to the annual results, bank chairman Willie Watt insisted the bank has made “clear and demonstrable achievement and progress” in its third full financial year.He said: “The Bank was