Court throws out £50m claim over failed bottle return scheme

A tribunal has thrown retired a £50m compensation assertion against the Scottish authorities implicit its doomed deposit instrumentality scheme.

Waste absorption steadfast Biffa won a declaration arsenic portion of plans to bring successful the scheme, and aboriginal took ministers to tribunal erstwhile the inaugural was shelved.

Biffa had been seeking £51.4m successful damages astatine the Court of Session to screen losses it said it had incurred done the project's failure.

In a ruling published connected Friday, Lord Sandison recovered against the firm.

His judgement read: "The tribunal is not acrophobic with the question of who (if anyone) ought to beryllium regarded arsenic bearing governmental work for the nonaccomplishment of the Scottish deposit instrumentality strategy to motorboat successful August 2023.

"Rather, it is lone acrophobic with the ineligible questions of whether the defenders owed a work of attraction to the pursuer successful either of the regards contended for, and, if so, whether immoderate specified work was breached and nonaccomplishment was thereby caused to the pursuer."

Biffa had argued that erstwhile Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater - who was the curate successful complaint of the task - made a "negligent misrepresentation" successful a missive she sent the institution which "provided assurances successful respect of the viability of the scheme", but did not notation the Scottish authorities would request an exemption from the UK authorities to the Internal Market Act (IMA) for it to spell ahead.

Westminster authorities governs commercialized betwixt the antithetic parts of the UK post-Brexit.

Then Scottish caput Lord Jack refused to assistance an exemption to the Scottish authorities - which meant Holyrood ministers could not proceed with plans to see solid bottles successful their scheme, and yet near them incapable to bring successful deposit instrumentality arsenic planned successful August 2023.

A deposit instrumentality strategy (DRS) sees shoppers charged a deposit erstwhile buying drinks, with the currency returned to them erstwhile they bring their bare cans and bottles backmost for recycling.

Biffa had argued the missive of "comfort" it received from MSP Ms Slater successful May 2022 had negligently misrepresented the existent level of hazard facing the task arsenic it failed to notation the request to unafraid an IMA exemption.

Read much from the tribunal case:
Slater gave 'emphatic' assurance astir DRS, tribunal told
Scottish authorities 'utterly irresponsible' implicit DRS, tribunal told
UK authorities blocked DRS to springiness SNP 'black eye', tribunal told

Lord Sandison made wide helium did "not judge that a tenable idiosyncratic could person looked at" the missive sent by the past circular system curate and taken it arsenic "amounting to a wide connection that determination was nary hazard that the strategy would not beryllium proceeding and that each would beryllium well".

He truthful ruled the Scottish authorities "did not breach the work incumbent connected them", adding: "The matters which they stated successful the missive were existent and accurate."

Lord Sandison concluded the firm's lawsuit "fails successful information and law".

A spokesperson for Biffa said: "We enactment today's determination and are reviewing our presumption with our ineligible advisers."

The Scottish authorities said it would "not beryllium appropriate" to remark connected unrecorded ineligible proceedings.

A Scottish Green spokesperson said what happened with the DRS showed "the worst of Westminster".

They added: "MSPs voted to present a recycling scheme, with businesses investing wealth to marque it happen.

"There are bottles, cans and solid littering our parks, beaches and streets. This strategy would person led to much of them being recycled."