Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) marketing and staff statistics: EIR release

Information requested

1. “A list of all suppliers that the Scottish Government has used to support the marketing, promotion, and graphic design of the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme, and how much each of these suppliers were paid, and a description of the activities they carried out.”

2. “The number of Scottish Government staff, broken down by pay grade, and the specific teams/departments within Scottish Government that have been supporting the rollout of the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme.”

3. “Any marketing or digital strategies that have been created by the Scottish Government, or provided to them by a supplier, to support the rollout of the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme.”

Response

Question 1:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested because there has been no direct engagement with suppliers regarding the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in relation to marketing and promotion of said scheme. Therefore, this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in the requested information, the Scottish Government cannot provide information which we do not hold.

You may also wish to contact Circulatory Scotland and/or Zero Waste Scotland directly regarding your request. I have included contact information for both organisation below for your convenience:

Contact Us | Circularity Scotland Ltd

Zero Waste Scotland Limited
Registered in Scotland (SC436030)
Ground Floor, Moray House
Forthside Way
Stirling
FK8 1QZ
Office: 01786 433 930

Question 2:

The answer to your question with regards to the number of Scottish Government staff involved with the rollout of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) as at the date of your request is included below:

Grade	Number of staff at grade	Division/Branch
Deputy Director	1	Circular Economy
C2	2	Circular Economy
C1	3	Circular Economy
B3	2	Circular Economy
B1	1	Circular Economy

Please note that some staff will have other policy responsibilities in addition to Deposit Return Scheme.

With effect from 1 April 2022 the pay ranges (in £) within the Scottish Government Main (SGM) pay bargaining unit are:

	A3	A4	B1	B2	B3	BF	C1	C2	C3
Max-3			28,702	33,120	41,642	32,847	52,355	68,540
Max-2	22,182	25,713	29,447	34,725	42,855	35,944	54,867	70,923	79,360
Max-1	23,335	26,481	30,440	36,330	44,888	38,016	58,849	74,002	80,255
Max	24,488	27,335	31,541	37,936	49,860	40,603	65,276	79,109	80,434

Further information regarding public sector pay that you may find helpful can be found here.

Question 3:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested because there has been no direct engagement with suppliers regarding the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in relation to marketing and promotion of said scheme. Therefore, this is a formal notice under Regulation 10(4)(a) of EIRs confirming that the Scottish Government does not hold this information.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in the requested information, the Scottish Government cannot provide information which we do not hold.

You may also wish to contact Circulatory Scotland and/or Zero Waste Scotland directly regarding your request. I have included contact information for both organisation below for your convenience:

Contact Us | Circularity Scotland Ltd

Zero Waste Scotland Limited
Registered in Scotland (SC436030)
Ground Floor, Moray House
Forthside Way
Stirling
FK8 1QZ
Office: 01786 433 930

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.