Draft Environmental Protection (Plastic Plates etc. and Polystyrene Containers etc.) (England) Regulations 2023

Ruth Jones Excerpts

Tuesday 4th July 2023 General Committees

[Ruth Jones (Newport West) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair again today, Mrs Harris. I am always delighted to see a fellow Welsh colleague.

The draft regulations have already been considered in the other place, in what I know was an interesting and lively debate. I echo the comments of my noble Friend Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent regarding the importance of north Staffordshire-produced ceramic plates and mugs, and how they can be among the most sustainable of solutions to our plastics crisis. I thought that was an excellent point and very well worth repeating here for the benefit of Ministers and colleagues. I know that many Labour Members will be spending lots of time in north Staffordshire over the coming months, so it will be good to be able to look at the plastic and ceramics there.

I welcome the statutory instrument and I want to make clear that we support its scope, reach and focus. The Labour party is crystal clear that we must all do more to tackle the pollution and waste crisis blighting all parts of our country, and the SI will play a small role in doing exactly that. However, as ever with this Government, the devil is in the detail and I want to touch on a number of specific points that require clarity and unpicking from the Minister. She knows me well enough by now to know this is the way we do things here.

First, I want to touch on engagement with our businesses. I suppose the Conservative Government are stealing defeat from the jaws of victory yet again, but this is a real concern with the issues we are considering. I want to touch on the consultation process with businesses and relevant stakeholders, as well as the roll-out and implementation of the proposals and, of course, the next stages of the plan to preserve our planet and protect our environment. So, let me ask the Minister about the engagement and consultation process. According to the sources we have talked to, the consultation lasted a mere 15 days, not the three months she outlined earlier. Will she clarify whether it was 15 days or three months? If it was just 15 days, does she think that that was an effective and fair period of time for such an important set of proposals? Will she further confirm what engagement with local authorities looked like? Did Ministers have any specific engagement with council leaders and senior staff? How many specific meetings took place between officials in her Department and local government representatives?

My right hon. Friend the Member for Walsall South has already mentioned the funding that will have to follow to make the new proposals implementable and workable. We cannot forget that the proposals will impact people in all communities, so engagement has to be meaningful and real. Would the Minister describe the engagement and consultation on the proposals in those terms? She will note that in paragraph 10.8 of the very helpful explanatory memorandum, we are informed that the Government notified the World Trade Organisation of the draft instrument on 21 March 2023 and:

“No objections have been made pursuant to notification.”

What communication was received from the WTO and when was it received? With WTO processes being slow, did officials in the Department anticipate any objections being made?

Paragraphs 6.4 and 6.5 of the explanatory memorandum set out that the exemption under the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 means that single-use bowls and trays legally produced in or imported into other parts of the UK can be sold in England irrespective of the ban. Has DEFRA done any modelling on how many firms, institutions and specific items are likely to make use of the exemption? What are the process and timescales for conducting the post-implementation review of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020, in which the implications for the environmental ambition of this Government may be considered?

Finally, will the Minister take a moment to outline the specific discussions that took place with the devolved Administrations in Cardiff and Edinburgh? She has mentioned that this is obviously an England-only instrument, but it is important that we know what has gone on across the UK. Did those discussions take place at the ministerial level? If not, why not and what engagement did take place? Of course, we must note that official engagement will be particularly important in Northern Ireland.

The proposals have our support, but we want change to be done in the right way and in a way that brings people together in the fight to save our planet and protect our environment. I am afraid that, once again, it is in the detail that the Government have been found wanting.