Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to require public e-bike hire schemes to include third-party insurance for (a) injury to people and (b) damage to property as part of the hire fee; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of such a requirement on (i) public safety and (ii) liability for scheme users.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is empowering local leaders to licence shared cycle schemes through measures in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. These licences will contain some minimum standard conditions set by the Secretary of State to ensure a baseline of safety and operability across the country. This could include specific insurance requirements for operators. We will consult publicly on the nature of these conditions before licensing is implemented to ensure we get it right.
Asked by: Anna Gelderd (Labour - South East Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what support his Department plans to provide to local authorities and material recovery facilities to ensure sorting and recycling infrastructure can be upgraded so it is consistent.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is working with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and waste industry representatives to support Material Recovery Facility (MRF) readiness for the Simpler Recycling requirements.
Simpler Recycling requires the following recyclable waste streams from all households and workplaces in England: glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, food waste (and garden waste from households only). These measures will increase the quantity of dry recyclable material collected for sorting at MRFs and is a requirement from 31 March 2025 from workplaces, 31 March 2026 from households and 31 March 2027 from micro-firms (with less than 10 FTEs).
We have engaged with MRF operators and local authorities through WRAP’s MRF Forum to identify challenges with MRF capacity, investment, upgrade timelines, and to work with the sector to identify interventions to support MRFs as they prepare for Simpler Recycling. WRAP is developing interventions to support Local Authorities setting up new MRF contracts or procurement of other resources associated with implementation of Simpler Recycling requirements. An assessment is being undertaken of the potential future composition of dry mixed recyclable waste streams and the associated financial implications resulting from this.
The MRF operators who are engaged with us are aware of their obligations and are working hard to upgrade their facilities to ensure they can separate the target materials as required by Simpler Recycling.