Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the metals recycling industry regarding the impact of introducing a fixed-rate deposit return scheme on the recycling rates of aluminium.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
DEFRA engage stakeholders across industry, including material manufacturers and the metals sector.
Regarding the issue of deposit levels, the deposit return scheme will have a central body to manage its operation; this role is to be undertaken by a new industry not-for-profit body, the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO). The DMO will be responsible for setting the deposit level within parameters set out in the regulations. The DMO will be required to consult all those with an interest in the scheme in setting the deposit level(s). The DMO will have the ability to set either a fixed rate or variable rate deposit (which could vary by drinks container size, format or material type).
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many unlicensed metal recyclers have been prosecuted in the past (1) three years, (2) five years, and (3) 10 years; and what steps they are taking to increase the number of prosecutions.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We absolutely recognise the distress and disruption metal theft can cause, not only to businesses, but also local communities.
The latest published statistics for the year ending March 2023 showed the number of metal theft offences recorded by the police in England and Wales was down by 54% compared with the year ending March 2013.
The Government supported the introduction of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 to reverse an upward trend in the level of metal theft through better regulation of the metal recycling sector, making it more difficult to dispose of stolen metal. The 2013 Act requires anyone carrying on business as a scrap metal dealer to be licensed by their local authority. The Act also provides police and licensing authority officers with a power to issue a closure notice if they are satisfied the premises are not licensed but are being used by a scrap metal dealer in the course of business; and to subsequently apply to the magistrates’ court for a closure order.
The Home Office continues to work closely with the National Police Chief Councils (NPCC) through the NPCC Metal Crime Steering Group, which brings together partner agencies to ensure a robust response to metal theft.
The Home Office also provided funding in the financial year 2020-21 to establish the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership. The Partnership ensures the national co-ordination of policing and law enforcement partners to tackle metal theft. Membership of the Partnership includes infrastructure companies such as rail, telecoms and utility companies, who work together to monitor trends in metal theft, share intelligence, target offenders and implement crime prevention measures. The Partnership has provided training for over 2000 police officers and other agencies in the responsibilities under the Act and how to enforce it.
Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on the ‘Criminal Justice System’ for England and Wales every quarter. This includes ‘summary offences under Scrap Metal Dealers Act’; The statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-june-2023.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government who holds responsibility for tackling unlicensed metal recyclers between the different police services and local authorities.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We absolutely recognise the distress and disruption metal theft can cause, not only to businesses, but also local communities.
The latest published statistics for the year ending March 2023 showed the number of metal theft offences recorded by the police in England and Wales was down by 54% compared with the year ending March 2013.
The Government supported the introduction of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 to reverse an upward trend in the level of metal theft through better regulation of the metal recycling sector, making it more difficult to dispose of stolen metal. The 2013 Act requires anyone carrying on business as a scrap metal dealer to be licensed by their local authority. The Act also provides police and licensing authority officers with a power to issue a closure notice if they are satisfied the premises are not licensed but are being used by a scrap metal dealer in the course of business; and to subsequently apply to the magistrates’ court for a closure order.
The Home Office continues to work closely with the National Police Chief Councils (NPCC) through the NPCC Metal Crime Steering Group, which brings together partner agencies to ensure a robust response to metal theft.
The Home Office also provided funding in the financial year 2020-21 to establish the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership. The Partnership ensures the national co-ordination of policing and law enforcement partners to tackle metal theft. Membership of the Partnership includes infrastructure companies such as rail, telecoms and utility companies, who work together to monitor trends in metal theft, share intelligence, target offenders and implement crime prevention measures. The Partnership has provided training for over 2000 police officers and other agencies in the responsibilities under the Act and how to enforce it.
Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on the ‘Criminal Justice System’ for England and Wales every quarter. This includes ‘summary offences under Scrap Metal Dealers Act’; The statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-june-2023.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure high recycling rates under the Simpler Recycling policy; and how such rates will be assessed to give consumers confidence.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
Simpler Recycling will aim to make recycling clearer and more consistent across England. All household and non-household premises (such as businesses, schools and hospitals) across England will be able to recycle the same materials in the following core groups: metal; glass; plastic; paper and card; food waste; garden waste (household only). Furthermore, packaging producers will be required to label packaging as ‘Recycle’ or ‘Do Not Recycle’ adopting a single label format which incorporates the Recycle Now symbol.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the effectiveness of introducing statutory guidance on Simpler Recycling which mandates the sorting of materials in order to be recycled by Material Recovery Facilities.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
We recently consulted on the content of the statutory guidance for Simpler Recycling. We will publish our final statutory guidance once the regulations relating to Simpler Recycling have been made.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the impact of mandating the sorting of co-mingled materials collected from households on increasing recycling rates under the Simpler Recycling policy.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
As part of Simpler Recycling, we have consulted on the provision of an exemption to allow local authorities and waste collectors in England to co-collect two or more dry recyclable waste streams in the same container, and to co-collect food and garden waste together in one container, without the need for written assessment. This consultation is now closed and we are analysing the responses and feedback from stakeholders gathered through this process. We will communicate the outcome of the consultation in due course. Furthermore, we will publish our Final Impact Assessment for Simpler Recycling alongside secondary legislation in 2024 which will contain modelled impacts of the Simpler Recycling on recycling rates.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether payments to farmers in England to rewet upland peat are sufficient (1) to offset management costs and provide income to the farmers, and (2) to ensure levels of restoration activity that are consistent with short-term and long-term targets.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
Payment rates are based on the income forgone and costs to the farmer. In January, we announced that we were increasing the payment rate for rewetting moorland peat in Countryside Stewardship from £25 to £181 per hectare. This significant increase will ensure appropriate payment to farmers as well as incentivising rewetting of vitally important peatland.
The Nature for Climate Peatland Grant scheme has provided £35 million of funding to financially commit us to restoring approximately 27,000 hectares of peatland. This scheme is funding a significant proportion of our short-term target of restoring 35,000 hectares by 2025.
The Government’s Environmental Land Management schemes will help us meet our longer-term target to restore 280,000 hectares of peatland by 2050. In particular, the Landscape Recovery scheme will provide successful projects with funding to support large-scale peatland restoration. Payments made to land managers under Landscape Recovery projects will be benchmarked against rates paid for similar activities under existing Government schemes, such as Countryside Stewardship, to ensure payments to farmers are appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Douglas-Miller on 22 February (HL Deb col 701), what assessment they have made of the merits of returning peatland sites to fully functioning bog habitat, including by limiting burning regimes.
Answered by Lord Benyon
In 2021, peatlands emitted 2% of UK net greenhouse gas emissions. When in a restored state, peatlands accumulate and store carbon, making them a vital tool in climate regulation and achieving the Government’s Net Zero goals. Full restoration of peatland habitats delivers on each of our natural capital objectives - locking up carbon, restoring biodiversity, preserving heritage sites, minimising wildfire hazards, and improving water regulation and quality. This Government is committed to restoring these precious environments.
There are a variety of restoration methods used to restore our peat. We seek to minimise the use of burning as a tool for restoration and therefore only permit burning in specific circumstances when it is being conducted in the right place and for the right reasons. Our Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations 2021 limit the instances when burning is permitted, and data from the Moorland Change Map suggests a decline in burning on moorlands since the introduction of the Regulations.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of claims that Drax Power Station is burning wood from rare forests in Canada; and whether such behaviour is consistent with the terms of the environmental subsidies provided to it.
Answered by Lord Callanan
The Government only supports sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that complies with strict sustainability criteria. We take reports of non-compliance very seriously and regularly engage with our regulator, Ofgem, to ensure that our strict sustainability criteria are being adhered to.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with packaging manufacturers regarding the scope of their proposed deposit return scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; and whether they intend to revise the scope of that scheme following any such discussions.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller
Conversations with packaging manufacturers on scope of materials in the deposit return scheme have been consistent with the position that was outlined in the Government’s consultation response in January 2023 (see attached).