Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the policy objective is of (a) extended producer responsibility and (b) packaging recovering notes; and what the relationship is between the two policies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) is intended to make producers responsible for the costs of managing their packaging, incentivising them to use less packaging and make the packaging they do use more sustainable.
The key pEPR obligations include paying local authority disposal costs for the management of packaging collected from households and public information campaigns, in addition to scheme administration and regulator fees. pEPR also includes a recycling obligation, which requires producers to obtain PRNs, based on the amount of packaging they have placed on the market, from accredited reprocessors and exporters. The cost of PRNs is intended to support the actual recycling of the collected packaging waste.
Combined, pEPR disposal fees and the cost of PRNs support the collection, sorting and reprocessing of packaging, as well as the costs of disposing of packaging which is not recycled.
A full explanation of how the pEPR system will operate can be found the Explanatory Memorandum published alongside the Producer Responsibility (Packaging and Packaging Wate) Regulations which were laid in Parliament on the 24th October The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 - Draft Explanatory Memorandum.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the updated National Action Plan on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides will be published.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We intend to publish a National Action Plan in due course that reflects the Government’s priority to minimise the risks and impact of pesticides on human health and the environment and facilitate sustainable use.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will (a) hold discussions with the (Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential impact of levels of (i) investment by the Irish Government and (ii) access to labour (A) from the EU and (B) through a bespoke visa on the mushroom sector in Northern Ireland and (b) make an assessment with the Secretary of State for Home Affairs of the potential merits of introducing a bespoke visa to encourage more agricultural workers into Northern Ireland's mushroom sector.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is serious about revitalising the relationship between UK and Devolved Governments and partnering to deliver economic growth and stability.
The Seasonal Workers visa route is a bespoke visa currently available for workers outside of the UK to come and work for up to six months in the horticulture sector, and in the run up to Christmas for the poultry sector. The horticulture sector includes both edible and ornamental horticulture, which covers the mushroom sector in Northern Ireland. The number of seasonal worker visas available for horticulture in 2024 is 45,000, with an additional 2,000 for the poultry sector. The same allocation was available in 2023 and comfortably met the sector’s needs.
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) review of the Seasonal Worker visa was published in July. It recommended the continuation of the visa route because of the sector’s unique, highly seasonal and short-term labour requirements and important role in ensuring our food security. The Government will be responding to the MAC this autumn.
Alongside migrant workers arriving through the Seasonal Worker visa route, food and farming businesses can also draw on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status to meet their seasonal worker needs.
I speak regularly to my counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive on shared priorities.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress his Department has made on introducing a ban on single use vapes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are reviewing the current proposals to restrict the sale and supply of single use vapes and will outline next steps as soon as possible.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the extender producer responsibility scheme on sustainable glass producers.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
No, the 2022 PePR impact assessment made an assessment of the impact of introducing the scheme on packaging producers as a whole. This does not split the assessment by sector. The Government has now published the first set of pEPR illustrative base fees and is undertaking engagement with relevant industry to ensure that they are based on the best evidence to date. As part of this engagement, the impact on specific packaging sectors is being discussed.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress her Department has made on achieving its target to eliminate avoidable plastic waste by the end of 2042.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are making progress to address this concerning issue. In December 2018, the UK Government published its Resources and Waste Strategy. This sets out how we will achieve a circular economy for plastic and achieve our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Our goal is to maximise resource efficiency and minimise waste (including plastic) - by following the principles of the waste hierarchy: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – to keep plastic in circulation for longer. We will do this by making producers more responsible for the plastic they make with our incoming Collection and Packaging Reforms.
Single-use plastics are a particularly problematic type of plastic that makes up much of our waste. To get us closer to our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042, we have introduced bans on the supply of many unnecessary single-use plastic items. We implemented one of the world’s toughest bans on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products and brought in measures to restrict the supply of plastic straws, plastic drink stirrers, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds in October 2020. The use of single-use carrier bags has been reduced in the main supermarkets by over 98% with our five pence charge. In May 2021 we increased the charge to 10 pence and extended it to all retailers to build on its success to date and create a level playing field for all businesses. In October 2023 we introduced a ban on the supply of single-use plastic plates, bowls, and trays to the end-user and ban the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and single-use plastic balloon sticks and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, including cups. We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/ or materials to take a systematic approach to reducing the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products.
We are preparing for the fourth round of negotiations in April, to develop a new legally binding UN treaty to end plastic pollution. As a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, the UK is pushing for an ambitious and effective UN Treaty to address the problem of plastic waste globally.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on plans to tackle labour shortages in the fishing industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer
My officials and I regularly engage both other departments and the fishing industry, including in Northern Ireland, to understand their labour needs. In March 2023 Defra commissioned a survey to further understand the labour needs of the UK fishing fleet. The Government continues to support the sector to attract the labour it needs, having recently rejected the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation that fishing occupations (51190 and 9119) be removed from the new Immigration Salary List. This means that those recruiting workers in these occupations will need to pay £30,960 instead of £38,700 when making use of the Skilled Worker visa.
We note, however, the Migration Advisory Committee’s concerns about exploitation in the fishing industry and the limited evidence of the sector’s efforts to reduce its reliance on immigration. It is important that industry looks to the domestic workforce to fill vacancies. However, the Government recognises that the sector needs further support to address some of these issues. Labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the labour supply in the fishing industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer
My officials and I regularly engage both other departments and the fishing industry, including in Northern Ireland, to understand their labour needs. In March 2023 Defra commissioned a survey to further understand the labour needs of the UK fishing fleet. The Government continues to support the sector to attract the labour it needs, having recently rejected the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation that fishing occupations (51190 and 9119) be removed from the new Immigration Salary List. This means that those recruiting workers in these occupations will need to pay £30,960 instead of £38,700 when making use of the Skilled Worker visa.
We note, however, the Migration Advisory Committee’s concerns about exploitation in the fishing industry and the limited evidence of the sector’s efforts to reduce its reliance on immigration. It is important that industry looks to the domestic workforce to fill vacancies. However, the Government recognises that the sector needs further support to address some of these issues. Labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the ability of the fishing industry to attract seasonal workers.
Answered by Mark Spencer
My officials and I regularly engage both other departments and the fishing industry, including in Northern Ireland, to understand their labour needs. In March 2023 Defra commissioned a survey to further understand the labour needs of the UK fishing fleet. The Government continues to support the sector to attract the labour it needs, having recently rejected the Migration Advisory Committee’s recommendation that fishing occupations (51190 and 9119) be removed from the new Immigration Salary List. This means that those recruiting workers in these occupations will need to pay £30,960 instead of £38,700 when making use of the Skilled Worker visa.
We note, however, the Migration Advisory Committee’s concerns about exploitation in the fishing industry and the limited evidence of the sector’s efforts to reduce its reliance on immigration. It is important that industry looks to the domestic workforce to fill vacancies. However, the Government recognises that the sector needs further support to address some of these issues. Labour shortages cannot be solved through the immigration system alone and there is regular engagement between departments when developing policy. We will continue to strike the balance between reducing overall net migration and ensuring that businesses have the skills they need to support economic growth.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South and Mid Down)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent progress he has made in negotiations of a new international, legally binding plastics treaty.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The United Nations Environment Assembly Resolution 5/14 set an ambitious timetable for the agreement of a new international, legally binding plastics treaty by end of 2024. The fourth round of negotiations (INC-4) will take place in Ottawa from 23 – 29 April which will continue discussions on the draft treaty text.
The UK is a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, a group of over 60 countries calling for an ambitious and effective treaty. The UK has been a vocal proponent of a strong and comprehensive agreement that covers the whole lifecycle of plastics, including restraining and reducing the production and consumption of plastic to sustainable levels, promoting a circular economy for plastic, managing plastic waste in an environmentally sound and safe manner, and preventing and reducing releases of plastics into the environment.
The Government is committed to securing an agreement on the text by the end of the year and is working closely with other Parties and stakeholders to facilitate progress at INC-4. In particular, the UK co-led with Brazil an informal, technical work programme to support continued dialogues on how to identify chemicals and polymers of concern, and problematic plastic products within the treaty.