{$inpagemarkup}

Search News

Results: 171-180 of 699


Jewellery sector’s Inspiring Independents 2023 - the top 100 independent jewellery and watch retailers - recognised by the industry

18 Jul 2023

Industry magazine Retail Jeweller’s list of Inspiring Independents 2023 - the top 100 independent jewellery and watch retailers from across the UK and Ireland, as voted... Read more…

Family-run jewellers celebrates its centenary by giving back to the community.

17 Jul 2023

A family-run jewellers in Kendal, which reaches its centenary this year, is putting giving back to the community at the heart of its celebrations.
Read more…

Independent retailer wins judicial review case over deposit return scheme.

4 Jul 2023

Independent convenience retailer Abdul Majid has won a judicial review case against Circularity Scotland, which was appointed by the Scottish government in 2021 to administer Scotland’s... Read more…

Asics reported to have halted supplies to UK independent sports shops.

4 Jul 2023

The Guardian has reported independent sports retailers saying their businesses are under threat after Asics said it was cutting off supply to hundreds of small UK outlets, joining Nike and... Read more…

Half of young European consumers find it acceptable to buy fakes.

4 Jul 2023

A new study on the perception of consumers towards intellectual property published by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has found that although 80% of Europeans believe... Read more…

Elmy Cycles featured in Daily Express ahead of Independents’ Day weekend.

29 Jun 2023

With this Saturday and Sunday marking Independents’ Day weekend, the culmination of the annual campaign to promote independent retailers around the UK, ACT member Elmy Cycles in Ipswich... Read more…

“AI has the potential to revolutionise the way retailers operate,” says Theo Paphitis

28 Jun 2023

Former Dragon Theo Paphitis has predicted retail will be revolutionised by AI technology.
Read more…

The Association of Convenience Stores publish their Crime Report of 2023

23 Jun 2023

The report estimates that there were over 1.1m incidents of theft reported last year. The most commonly stolen items as reported by retailers are meat, alcohol and confectionery –... Read more…

How fine food retail can be part of the solution to ultra-processed food

19 Jun 2023

Scientists and researchers have compelling data, showing ultra-processed food could be responsible for several health conditions – a recent piece in Speciality Food Magazine set out to... Read more…

PayPoint launches digital shopper marketing platform

19 Jun 2023

Retailers will be able to drive customer spend, digital media use, push new product development and increase sales and distribution, claims PayPoint, following the launch of a new digital... Read more…

Back to news menu

Independent retailer wins judicial review case over deposit return scheme.

Posted on in Business News

Independent convenience retailer Abdul Majid has won a judicial review case against Circularity Scotland, which was appointed by the Scottish government in 2021 to administer Scotland’s deposit return scheme (DRS).

Recycling deposits

Majid had been challenging the legality of the retailer handling fees that Circularity Scotland was seeking to levy on retailers. The DRS has since been put on hold by the Scottish government and Circularity Scotland forced into administration.

Commenting on the judgement, Pete Cheema, Chief Executive of The Scottish Grocers’ Federation,
said:

“The court of session has held that the way that the Scottish government and Circularity Scotland had set up the deposit return scheme was unlawful and did not comply with the regulations made by the Scottish parliament.

“Circularity Scotland had no powers to set the fees that it sought to impose on retailers and even if it had, they had still got it wrong by trying to impose a flat fee on all retailers, despite the difference in costs to the operators.

“This decision essentially stops the DRS progressing in its current form.

“It’s hugely disappointing, however, that it took a court action by an independent retailer when SGF had tried for some considerable time to make the Scottish government listen to those directly affected.

“Indeed, we had personally informed [circular economy minister] Lorna Slater that Circularity Scotland were breaching their licence, but she refused to support us when it was obvious, we were right.

“Also, we had warned the Scottish government that it was never industry-led.

“Despite representing the largest number of return point operators, our voice was consistently not listened to.
“SGF is hopeful that the UK government will make this legal position binding when they introduce the UK-wide DRS scheme in October 2025.”

Following the announcement by the Court of Session that he had won his case, Majid said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won my case, one which in many ways was not just for myself but for the many other retailers who would have been negatively impacted if Circularity Scotland had been able to proceed with their plans for the setting of the retail handling fee.

“From the outset, it was clear there was an issue over the legality of the retailer handling fees but it is not as if this was not pointed out to them.

“The Scottish government and Circularity Scotland were asked to address the concerns of retailers around this matter to avoid the concern, confusion, and uncertainty that it would generate, but to no avail. I hope the UK government take note of this decision and use it to avoid a similar situation arising in any UK-wide scheme.”

Back to news menu

Useful links

If you have any other queries please contact us.