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 colleagues in the Treasury on the potential impact of reducing food waste on the cost of living.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra officials engage regularly with His Majesty’s Treasury as part of the policy making process. Latest data from WRAP show that 58% of UK food waste occurs in households, with the average family wasting around £80 of food each month.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of requiring large businesses to publicly report food waste.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government recognises the importance of improving food waste data to help reduce food waste and improve resource efficiency. Defra is engaging with industry to improve reporting and data quality, while considering a range of policy options.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the (a) closure and (b) lack of capacity of producer compliance schemes for fridges and freezers on local authorities, including the need for them to meet the cost of such disposals.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working with stakeholders to monitor the situation and support industry to develop solutions.

The Environment Agency has published a Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) to allow temporary storage. Producer Compliance Schemes should work with councils and treatment facilities to identify appropriate sites and come to arrangements over the costs.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of requiring produce compliance schemes for fridges and freezers that lack sufficient processing capacity to identify and utilise suitable storage sites.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working with stakeholders to monitor the situation and support industry to develop solutions.

The Environment Agency has published a Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) to allow temporary storage. Producer Compliance Schemes should work with councils and treatment facilities to identify appropriate sites and come to arrangements over the costs.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure producer compliance schemes for fridges and freezers are able to operate effectively, given the reduction in the number of processing facilities.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working with stakeholders to monitor the situation and support industry to develop solutions.

The Environment Agency has published a Regulatory Position Statement (RPS) to allow temporary storage. Producer Compliance Schemes should work with councils and treatment facilities to identify appropriate sites and come to arrangements over the costs.