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STV News
8 hours ago
- Business
- STV News
Biffa £166m compensation claim over deposit return scheme 'good to go'
A lawyer acting for a company pursuing a £166m compensation claim against the Scottish Government has told a judge that his case is 'good to go' to court. Roddy Dunlop KC made the statement during a procedural hearing on Thursday in an action brought against Scottish ministers by Biffa Waste Services Ltd. The company has raised an action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh over a decision made by ministers to delay the introduction of the deposit return scheme. It alleges that Lorna Slater – the former minister for green skills, circular economy and biodiversity – gave negligent assurances to the firm in a letter about the initiative to ensure its participation. Biffa's lawyer Roddy Dunlop KC told judge Lord Clark last year that the correspondence made no reference to how Holyrood would need its Westminster counterpart to give the final go ahead to the scheme. The scheme was later scrapped after the Conservative government in London refused to give the go ahead for it be implemented. The firm believes the Scottish Government 'negligently misrepresented the assurance it gave' to Biffa. Biffa has instructed Mr Dunlop, the Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, to act for it in the £166.2m compensation claim. Judge Lord Clark gave permission for the action to proceed following a two day hearing last year when the Scottish Government's lawyer Gerry Moynihan KC asked the court to dismiss the action. On Thursday, the case called again for a procedural hearing before judge Lord Sandison. Mr Dunlop said he and his legal team were making preparations for the case which is expected to be heard in the Court of Session over an eight day period in October 2025. Mr Dunlop added: 'The case is now simplified and good to go.' The deposit return scheme was a key policy of the former SNP-Green administration. Under the plans, a 20p deposit was be added to all single-use drinks containers made of PET plastic, metal or glass. Consumers could reclaim the deposit by returning the containers to retailers or to specially-designed reverse vending machines. It was due to be introduced in August 2023 but the launch date was pushed back, with then first minister Humza Yousaf citing concerns from businesses. The Conservative government at Westminster refused to grant the scheme the go-ahead unless it conformed to a UK-wide approach which excluded glass. In June 2023 Slater said she had no choice but to delay the scheme until at least October 2025, accusing the UK government of sabotage. She left government last year following the collapse of the Green-SNP power-sharing agreement. The company have decided to go to the Court of Session in Edinburgh because it believes the Holyrood government is responsible for it incurring a £166.2m loss. It wants compensation for the cash it invested in the collapsed deposit return scheme and the subsequent loss of profit. At the proceedings last year, Mr Moynihan said the Scottish Ministers acted lawfully and that the government did not act a duty of care to Biffa. He also said the letter sent by Ms Slater – which was dated May 17 2022 – did not amount to a 'negligent representation'. Speaking on the final day of a two day long hearing into whether the action should proceed, Mr Dunlop outlined the alleged actions of Ms Slater in dealing with his clients. Mr Dunlop said: 'Our position is that we did sign the contract in a situation of the assumption of responsibility. 'The minister was not required to give an assurance but she voluntarily did. 'She did so because she wanted Biffa on board. She must have known Biffa would act upon what she said. 'It is writing a letter that provides the assurances that not reflect the actuality of the situation. 'We know why she decided to write that letter. She wrote that letter as she needed the deposit return scheme to have a purpose. 'She needed a contractor like Biffa – who was swithering about whether to become involved – to become involved.' Mr Dunlop also claimed that Ms Slater's purpose in writing the letter to Biffa was to ensure the scheme's success. He added: 'The simple fact of the matter is that the Ministers were very keen to have Biffa on board. 'It was important for them politically and logistically to have a well resourced contractor like Biffa on board. 'Without that the deposit return scheme was dead in the water.' On Thursday, Lord Sandison fixed a date for another procedural hearing in the case – this will take place on September 2 2025. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Lawyers criticise Maggie Chapman's comments on Supreme Court gender ruling
The dean of the faculty of advocates has criticised Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman for what he described as "reprehensible" comments attacking the judiciary following the Supreme Court judgement on the definition of a Chapman - the deputy convener of Holyrood's Equalities committee - was filmed at a weekend rally condemning what she called "bigotry, prejudice and hatred coming from the Supreme Court".In a letter to the committee, Roddy Dunlop KC called the remarks "outrageous" and said they created a "risk of danger" to members of the Supreme said she stands by her comments, and that it was her role to "stand up and represent trans people". 'Beyond the pale' The Scottish government is to make a statement in Holyrood on Tuesday afternoon setting out its response to the unanimous ruling that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities were held at the weekend by pro-trans campaigners, with First Minister John Swinney saying he understood why the trans community would feel "uncertain and anxious" over the - a long time supporter of trans rights - attended a protest in Aberdeen and told the crowd: "We say not in our name to the bigotry, prejudice and hatred that we see coming from the Supreme Court and from so many other institutions in our society."Roddy Dunlop KC said the comments were "beyond the pale" and that Chapman should consider her role as deputy convenor as her remarks conflicted with Scottish Parliament guidance on said her comments "fail to respect the rule of law" and "constitute an egregious breach of Ms Chapman's duties to uphold the continued independence of the judiciary".He added: "But they go further than that, and create a risk of danger to the members of the court themselves. "This behaviour is irresponsible and reprehensible."He added that he expected a "swift and fulsome" apology from the MSP Ash Regan said she had reported Chapman to the Presiding Officer and Standards Committee, adding: "MSPs have a duty to uphold the law, not undermine it." Speaking on Tuesday morning, Chapman said she would not apologise, and that institutions and laws reflected transphobia and prejudice present in society. She also said the rule of law "still stands", but that it was her role to "stand up and represent trans people".Last Wednesday's ruling was the culmination of a long-running legal dispute between the Scottish government and campaign group For Women Scotland over whether sex-based protections should only apply to people born female. The Scottish government's social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville will outline to Holyrood implications of the ruling and the processes that will follow, including ensuring updated guidance is issued for public bodies on access to single-sex spaces such as female toilets and changing rooms. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, who was opposed to Scottish government plans to make it easier for trans people to be granted a gender recognition certificate, told BBC Scotland News she did not feel vindicated by the court ruling but that it had provided "legal clarity". Trans campaigners have expressed concern the ruling would erase protections they have against discrimination in their reassigned gender. The Holyrood statement comes as Bridget Philipson, the UK government's equalities minister, told the BBC's Today programme that trans women should now use toilets according to their biological she stopped short of explicitly saying trans women should use the men's also said that further guidance by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission would be issued, including a statutory code of practice. Philipson said this would ensure "everyone has the ability to access services that are safe and appropriate". Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the ruling in his first comments on the matter, saying it gave "much needed clarity". The Scottish government argued in court that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) are entitled to the same sex-based protections as biological women under the Equality Act judges unanimously ruled that the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act "refer to a biological woman and biological sex" rather than "certificated sex".Michael Foran, a lecturer in law at the University of Glasgow, told the BBC the decision "has profound implications for trans inclusion in those spaces".He added debate surrounding the ruling had been muddied by misinformation and "attempts to delegitimise" the Supreme Court. He added: "It's incumbent on the government to communicate clearly what this judgement does and does not say, and to combat that misinformation."
