Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues in MHCLG responsible for fire services regarding what further steps can be taken to prevent farm fires.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra Ministers and officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of issues.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the risk of applying a 4% impairment fee on EPR on future impairment rates as a result of additional pressure on business finances.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Incorporating impairment provisions for bad debt in a cost recovery scheme is an expected consideration of Government, as detailed in Managing Public Money guidelines, and is common practice when setting fees. Whilst Notice of Liabilities issued under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme are due for payment after 50 calendar days, liable producers have the facility to pay in quarterly instalments. These impairment provisions can only be used for specific purposes and will be subject to regular scrutiny and review. To minimise impairment and provide transparency, PackUK intends to collect debt rigorously but fairly and will review the impairment provision at least quarterly. Where the impairment provision isn’t fully utilised liable producers will be given a refund.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what determination was made to assess the proportionality and fairness of the 4% impairment fee applied under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The impairment provision is based on the bad debt experience of Defra with charging schemes that are most similar to pEPR, whilst taking into consideration the large values of some of our Notice of Liabilities.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what methodology was used to calculate the 4% impairment fee applied under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The impairment provision is based on the bad debt experience of Defra with charging schemes that are most similar to pEPR, whilst taking into consideration the large values of some of our Notice of Liabilities.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made of an assessment of the extent to which the 4% impairment fee has contributed to (a) financial strain and (b) non-payment among obligated producers.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Incorporating impairment provisions for bad debt in a cost recovery scheme is an expected consideration of Government, as detailed in Managing Public Money guidelines, and is common practice when setting fees. Whilst Notice of Liabilities issued under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme are due for payment after 50 calendar days, liable producers have the facility to pay in quarterly instalments. These impairment provisions can only be used for specific purposes and will be subject to regular scrutiny and review. To minimise impairment and provide transparency, PackUK intends to collect debt rigorously but fairly and will review the impairment provision at least quarterly. Where the impairment provision isn’t fully utilised liable producers will be given a refund.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has held with industry since Extended Producer Responsibility invoices were issued to assess the impact of the 4% impairment fee on business cashflow and profitability.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra holds regular conversations with industry regarding all aspects of the pEPR scheme, including the impairment provision within notices of liability. Incorporating impairment provisions for bad debt in a cost recovery scheme is an expected consideration of Government as detailed in Managing Public Money guidelines and is common practice when setting fees. Whilst Notice of Liabilities issued under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme are due for payment after 50 calendar days, liable producers have the facility to pay in quarterly instalments. These impairment provisions can only be used for specific purposes and will be subject to regular scrutiny and review. Where the impairment provision isn’t fully utilised liable producers will be given a refund.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of hares shot during the period when sale is prohibited under the Hares Preservation Act 1892 in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra holds no official statistics on the number of hares shot in England. The Act aims to protect hares by prohibiting the sale of hares in England from March to July inclusive.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the ecological vulnerability of chalk stream habitats; and whether his Department plans to develop a national strategy for their (a) protection and (b) restoration.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.
Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector.
Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. Through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), over 1000 improvement projects are planned within chalk stream catchments between 2024-2029.
Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that local authorities use funds from the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme solely for waste management and environmental purposes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
pEPR regulations include a range of measures to drive improved performance and ensure local authorities make the investments needed to support an efficient and effective waste management service for household packaging. These include:
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Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on (a) local economic growth and (b) the financial resilience of local authorities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) and the packaging reforms more broadly, will deliver both positive environmental and economic benefits, supporting 21,000 jobs in our nations and regions, and stimulating more than 10 billion pounds investment in recycling capability over the next decade. The impact of pEPR on local economic growth has not been assessed.
Local government in England is expected to receive over £1 billion of new funding in 2025-26 through the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging scheme.
The government will guarantee that if local authorities in England do not receive Extended Producer Responsibility income in line with their November 2024 payment estimates in the first year of the scheme (2025-26), they will provide an in-year top up.
This funding will cover the existing costs local authorities incur for managing household packaging waste, provide additional funding for new legal duties, and support much needed investment in the waste and recycling industry.