Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the cost of VAT to manufacturers where the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme reaches an 80 per cent bottle return rate; and if he will make a statement.

The Scottish Government and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs both intend to introduce deposit return schemes for drinks containers. HMRC is working with them and other stakeholders to ensure the VAT implications of these schemes are understood and is exploring how the VAT regulations may be amended to support the scheme. HMRC will assess the impact of any VAT regulation changes.