Wise move
I know from local businesses how concerned they were by the potential extra cost and time involved had there been a short timescale before the introduction of the Scottish Government’s Deposit Return Scheme for single-use bottles and cans.
There is the added factor of our proximity to northern England and the volume of cross-border travel for employment, services and shopping as well as, for Scottish retailers, an urgent requirement to arrange necessary equipment and storage to make the scheme work.
A rush to be different from the rest of the UK, as one constituent described the pace of the introduction to me, could have triggered unintended consequences, particularly detrimental to some Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders businesses and consumers.
That’s why I welcome First Minister Humza Yousaf’s sensible announcement this week to pause the Scottish Government’s scheme until March next year whilst acknowledging the change has not been granted an exemption to the UK Internal Market Act.
The proposed system would have imposed a 20p deposit on individual single-use drink containers in Scotland, which would be refunded on return to sellers of such products.
Unfortunately and significantly, on top of that would be the added cost of operating the scheme which would be passed on to consumers. One example I've been given is a 12-bottle pack of discount supermarket mineral water which could see a price rise from £1.59 to £5.19, meaning only £2.40 would be reclaimable by the consumer.
We now have an opportunity to work together on solutions which deliver for consumers and businesses across the UK, helping to realise our shared ambition to improve the environment by increasing recycling and reducing litter.
Test time
Technology has come a long way since my youth when Civil Defence, Royal Observer Corps and local fire stations used landlines and sirens to alert their volunteers, staff and wider public to an incident or potential danger.
That came to mind when I was briefed this week about an important precautionary exercise this Sunday at 3 pm when those with mobile phones across the UK will receive a message on their home screen along with a sound and vibration for 10 seconds.
All people with mobiles need to do afterwards is swipe away the message or click ‘OK’ on their screen and continue to use their phone as normal.
This system is a prudent precaution, which hopefully does not need to be used for real, but I believe it is important that it is fully tested and available.
I’m keen though to confirm that adequate warning would be in place for the equally important part of the population, who, for whatever reason, may not carry a mobile phone or have access to a satisfactory signal.
Ice triumph
Hot on the heels of a remarkable success by local curlers in the Scotland team, which won the Men’s World Championship in Canada, I would also like to add my congratulations to the Dumfries-based Solway Sharks ice hockey team who won their fourth major trophy at the weekend beating Streatham Redhawks 4-0 in the National Ice Hockey League 1 championship final in Coventry.