Wales' glass refund plan proceeding without Westminster agreement

Wales' scheme is to start in two years, after Scotland's scheme was delayed

The Welsh government intends to press on with plans for a refundable bottles and cans fee after the UK government blocked similar ones in Scotland.

The scheme is set to start in Wales in two years, but Scotland's scheme was delayed last week after Westminster said glass could not be included.

The UK government said its decision would affect Wales' plans too.

Climate Change minister Julie James said she would take the UK government "to task".

The UK government has decided not to include glass bottles in its own deposit return scheme, and told the Scottish government it wanted glass excluded so a consistent UK-wide approach was taken.

Westminster used post-Brexit legislation called the Internal Markets Bill to stop Scotland's plans.

Julie James said she would take the UK government "to task"

Ms James said her reading of the UK Internal Markets Bill was that no single nation could interrupt the commerce of the others.

She said: "It's England that's the outlier here, not Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and they need to understand that."

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Under the Welsh government plans, people would get their money back if they returned empty drinks containers made of plastic, glass, steel or aluminium.

Ms James insisted the Welsh government would continue to roll out its scheme in two years.

"We don't think we need the permission of the UK government to do that," she said.

Andrew RT Davies said Labour liked doing things differently "for the sake of it"

The Welsh government consulted jointly with the UK government and Northern Ireland executive on its plans.

When the UK government decided not to include glass it cited concerns about creating complexity and burdens for business.

The UK government said it wanted to deliver a consistent approach for the deposit return scheme across the UK, providing a simple and effective system for both businesses and consumers.

"We have listened to industry. Businesses have been clear that adding glass to a deposit return scheme will add fundamental complexity for our pubs and restaurants, increase burdens on small businesses, whilst creating greater inconvenience for consumers," it said.

Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies accused Ms James of being different for the sake of it.

In a tweet he asserted she had "obviously" not spoken to independent Welsh brewers.

Their belief, he said, was that including glass would "cripple" them.

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