Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to require the NHS to give the same priority to UK citizens as undocumented migrants when accessing A&E services.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is clear that patients should expect and receive the highest standard of service and care from the National Health Service, and that people should be treated with compassion, dignity, and respect. Patients attending emergency departments will always be prioritised based on clinical need.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Environment Agency took to communicate to operators that RPS248 would be withdrawn.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

A Regulatory Position Statement explains when the Environment Agency will not take enforcement action for not complying with a legal requirement.

In July 2021 RPS 248 was published. The RPS was time limited and written to enable the use of shredded waste carpet whilst industry and regulators did further work on understanding the environmental risks. RPS withdrawal was always a potential outcome from this work.

In advance of RPS248 being withdrawn, the Environment Agency sent a briefing note to industry explaining the reasoning behind the planned withdrawal. The briefing was sent to Carpet Recycling UK (who had a working group on waste carpet in equestrian surfaces) and to companies notifying that they were using the RPS. A notification under the RPS was a critical requirement of the RPS.

Some companies not notifying under RPS248 subsequently contacted the Environment Agency for further information and the briefing note was shared on request. The RPS was subsequently withdrawn in January 2024, as the RPS posed an unacceptable risk to the environment and the future liabilities of end users.

Industry must now meet the legal requirement for an environmental permit for the use of shredded waste carpet in equestrian surfacing.

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 is taking with the Environment Agency to prevent companies from importing waste carpet from the EU.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Waste is a commodity, and there is a legitimate global market for secondary materials. The transfrontier shipment of waste, including waste carpet, is subject to strict controls that are set out in the UK’s legislation. All waste shipments from the EU to the UK must comply with these controls. The Environment Agency (EA) is England’s competent authority and conducts compliance activities on an intelligence led, risk-based approach to ensure that imports of waste to England are in compliance with the legislative controls. The EA welcome any information regarding possible illegal movements via their incident reporting system or via Crimestoppers.

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 hold discussions with the Environment Agency on the potential merits of providing financial support to businesses with the cost of the removal of unusable stock, in the context of the withdrawal of the regulatory guidance statement entitled Using shredded waste carpet in equestrian surfacing, RPS248.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We currently have no plans to discuss the potential merits of paying compensation to businesses affected by the withdrawal of the regulatory position statement entitled Using shredded waste carpet in equestrian surfacing.

Withdrawing the RPS means that using shredded waste carpets for equestrian surfacing is not prohibited, but a waste management permit is needed instead. There is no mechanism to compensate businesses affected by the withdrawal of a regulatory position.

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 hold discussions with the Environment Agency on the potential merits of paying compensation to businesses affected by the withdrawal of the regulatory position statement entitled Using shredded waste carpet in equestrian surfacing RPS248.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We currently have no plans to discuss the potential merits of paying compensation to businesses affected by the withdrawal of the regulatory position statement entitled Using shredded waste carpet in equestrian surfacing.

Withdrawing the RPS means that using shredded waste carpets for equestrian surfacing is not prohibited, but a waste management permit is needed instead. There is no mechanism to compensate businesses affected by the withdrawal of a regulatory position.

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 the Environment Agency on the adequacy of the length of the notice period for the withdrawal of the regulatory position statement entitled Using shredded waste carpet in equestrian surfacing, RPS248.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

There have been no discussions with the Environment Agency about the adequacy of the length of the notice period for the withdrawal of the regulatory position statement entitled Using shredded waste carpet in equestrian surfacing RPS248.

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Found: _NC16 Victoria Atkins Dr Neil Hudson Robbie Moore Jerome Mayhew Aphra Brandreth Sarah Bool Sir

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As it strives to deliver its energy, environmental and growth commitments, balancing the pressures on the marine environment will be a challenge for the Government.