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.

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.

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.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Charity Commission on regulatory compliance cases into (a) Dar Alhekma and (b) the Abrar Islamic Foundation.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Charity Commission to discuss a range of issues relating to charity regulation. As the Charity Commission is independent from the Government in its regulatory decision making, it will be for the Charity Commission to assess these matters further.

The Charity Commission has live regulatory compliance cases into Dar Alhekma Trust and Abrar Islamic Foundation. These cases were temporarily paused at the request of the Metropolitan Police Service, to avoid prejudicing the police’s assessment of the concerns raised. The Charity Commission is now engaging with the trustees of both charities to assess the allegations.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he is considering regulatory steps to encourage the fitting of fire suppression systems to agricultural equipment, such as combine harvesters.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is not considering regulatory steps to encourage fitting fire suppression systems to agricultural equipment. This is because existing requirements under The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 set out that machinery must be designed and constructed in a way to avoid the risk of fire or overheating posed by the machinery itself or by gases, liquids, dust, vapours or other substances produced or used by the machinery. Many organisations also issue guidance to farmers to avoid the damage and disruption caused by accidental combine harvester fires.

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.

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.