To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on establishing a deposit return scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the interoperability of deposit return schemes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to appoint an independent administrator for a deposit return scheme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on ensuring the interoperability of deposit return schemes.

Consultations on introducing a deposit return scheme (DRS) for single-use drinks containers were held in 2019 and 2021, with the final consultation response published in January 2023. These consultations applied to England, Wales and NI.

In May 2023, UK Government published a position statement setting out that DRSs across the UK should be interoperable to reduce complexity for businesses and consumers, and to avoid unnecessary barriers to trade. Defra is working closely with devolved administrations on the next steps to deliver schemes that work together across the UK. We aim to publish a joint update in early 2024.