Deposit Return Scheme delay and alcohol advertising re-set chance to save choice of good beer and cider in Scotland: CAMRA

Commenting on the decision by Scotland’s First Minister to delay the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme and to go back to the drawing board on restrictions on alcohol advertising, CAMRA’s Scottish Director Stuart McMahon said: 

“The First Minister’s announcements this afternoon will be welcomed by beer drinkers and pub goers across the country.  

“We had risked seeing consumer choice decimated if brewers and cider producers decided to stop selling into the Scottish market because of the Deposit Return Scheme. We still think there should be a UK-wide scheme, but simplifying the process and delaying its introduction until March 2024 gives ministers the chance to make the scheme workable and make sure consumers can still have a decent choice of beer and cider from small and independent producers across these islands. 

“Going back to the drawing board on plans to restrict alcohol advertising is also the right thing to do. Previous plans for a draconian ban on advertising and promotion would have been devastating – demonising the vast majority of those who consume alcohol responsibly and damaging the viability of small, local pubs and breweries in Scotland.”