Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Accepted
Update Committee on international experience informing deposit return scheme design and roll-out.
Conclusion
The Department is basing the design of the deposit return scheme on small trials and international experience, but a lack of like-for-like comparators may make it difficult to get the UK’s scheme right. The National Audit Office recommended the Department considers piloting the scheme due to uncertainties around the scale of the benefits to ensure it is value for money. The impact assessment for the deposit return scheme showed that more than 90% of the benefits of the scheme are based on an estimate of the value to society of reducing litter, and this is inherently difficult to determine. The Department does not plan to conduct a pilot of the deposit return scheme due to the practical challenges of setting it up. It plans to use the information it has on small trials combined with looking at the experiences of other countries who have implemented similar schemes. However, the Department accepts the international comparators are not directly comparable to the UK, for example some countries do not have kerbside collections which recycle some of the same waste. Recommendation 3: Alongside its Treasury Minute response, the Department should write to the committee with an update on how it is drawing on international experience to inform the design and roll-out of the deposit return scheme. This should include commentary on what lessons there are from countries that have introduced deposit return schemes on top of kerbside collections.
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and details its ongoing work to draw on international experience for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) design, including country visits and research. It commits to writing to the Committee in Summer 2024 with an update on lessons learned, following the publication of the joint policy statement.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. to support the design and roll-out of the deposit return scheme (DRS) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This includes learning lessons from the proposed DRS in Scotland, the forthcoming scheme in the Republic of Ireland, as well as established schemes in Sweden, Germany, Latvia, and others from across the world. As part of gathering information, the department recently carried out visits to Sweden, Republic of Ireland and Slovakia to see their DRS in person and to meet with industry representatives, civil servants and scheme administrators to discuss the scheme set up. Information was also gathered from teach-ins with the German, Latvian, and ROI scheme administrators. And finally, the department carried out desk research on specific topics, reaching out to relevant international schemes, stakeholders and other organisations such as Reloop where further information is needed. The department has particularly engaged with other comparable European schemes, many of which have similar key features to the UK’s scheme such as: • A collection target that covers a broad scope of packaging and container types. • A meaningful deposit value – usually a round figure that is high enough to incentivise consumers. • An easy-to-follow redemption system that is reliable, accessible, and fair to all in society. • A system where producers help to manage, finance, and invest in the system. International schemes have informed policy making on the set up of the scheme administrator, provision of return points and scope of the regulations. The department will write to the Committee in Summer 2024 following the publication of the joint policy statement on DRS and notification of the draft secondary legislation, which sets out final policy positions of the scheme. This will ensure the letter can include specific examples of lessons learnt from international schemes once the developing policy positions are confirmed and made public.