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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what enforcement action the Environment Agency plans to take against brokers who fail to submit geo-tagged photographic evidence demonstrating that consignments arrived at their intended destination.

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

The Environment Agency (EA) takes appropriate action to bring businesses within the waste sector back into compliance and to prevent and disrupt criminal activity. This includes providing advice and guidance for businesses trying to do the right thing, issuing enforcement notices where necessary, and, when required, pursuing prosecution as a last resort.

If exporters fail to provide geotagged photographs showing that consignments have reached their destination, the EA will carry out further checks, including reviewing any alternative evidence that the waste was managed appropriately. Where the destination cannot be verified, the EA may prohibit future shipments from a specific operator or to a particular destination. It will also consider taking enforcement action for failing to comply with the notice.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of the consignments of end-of-life tyres submitted to the Environment Agency's enhanced verification procedure for Annex VII documents between 1st October 2025 and 15th December 2025, have subsequently been subject to a Change Of Destination request made by brokers to carriers and how these requests are recorded by the Environment Agency.

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

The Environment Agency (EA) received two “change of destination” requests for shipments within the enhanced verification process.

One request was submitted while the shipment was already at sea, and the other before it left the UK. Both were sent by email and recorded by the operational team.

Whilst there is no legal requirement for exporters to inform the EA about a change of destination under the Waste Shipment Regulations, the EA monitors such changes to ensure waste is not diverted to an unsuitable destination.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, further to the Government’s announcement in July 2025 of the decision to remove the T8 waste tyre exemption, if she will clarify the process involved in achieving that, confirm the timeline to end the T8 waste tyre exemption and confirm when the three month transition period is to start.

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

Removal of the T8 waste exemption for mechanically treating end-of-life tyres is part of a package of reforms to the waste exemption regime. These reforms encompass the removal of two other exemptions, substantial amendments to seven exemptions and the introduction of a number of other controls.

Regulations will be made under section 2 of Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999 and subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. The work preparing these regulations is underway and will be laid at a date subject to Parliamentary time.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of the consignments of end-of-life tyres submitted to the Environment Agency's enhanced verification procedure for Annex VII documents between 1st October 2025 and 15th December 2025 and have arrived at their final destination have returned geo-tagged photos as proof of arrival.

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

The Environment Agency has received 79 completed annex VII documents since 28 December 2025 with attached geotagged photographs. Any photos submitted without the required geotagging are considered non-compliant and further action is taken.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of the consignments of end-of-life tyres submitted to the Environment Agency's enhanced verification procedure for Annex VII documents between 1st October 2025 and 15th December 2025, have arrived at their final destination overseas.

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

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued 44 Information Notices, and in return received 1,891 Annex VII documents relating to outward shipments from the UK since 28 October 2025 when the new procedures were introduced.

The EA’s enhanced verification procedure requires completed annex VII documents to be submitted 8 weeks after shipment to confirm it has arrived at its destination.

The deadline for the first completed document was 28 December. The EA has since received 112 Annex VII documents from the receiving sites- this number will increase as more shipments reach the 8-week deadline.

The EA continues to request completed Annex VIIs and is actively following up the outstanding returns.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to remove end-of-life tyres from the green list waste category under the Waste Shipment Regulations.

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

The export of waste tyres is subject to controls set out in existing UK legislation. The Environment Agency (EA) has recently completed a review into its approach for regulating the export of waste tyres. As a result of this, the EA has launched enhanced verification checks for all waste tyres exported to India to ensure they are handled in an environmentally sound manner. The EA intends to publish a further update on their work, including further information relating to the enhanced verification checks, in early 2026. Defra officials will continue to keep the situation under review.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 106499 on Tyres: Waste Disposal, how many Annex VII documents were submitted late for which the latest data is available.

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

The Environment Agency has received a total of 3,442 annex VII documents between 28 October to 2 February 2026 relating to the movement of waste tyres from England. 241 of these were considered late as they were received less than the required 3 days before the waste movement. The Environment Agency is now undertaking follow up activities and considering the use of stop notices for non-compliant companies.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2026 to Question 106499 on Tyres: Waste Disposal, how many of the 1,891 applications for an Annex VII document originated from exporters or businesses operating under a T8 exemption.

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

Of the 1,891 Annex VII documents received by the Environment Agency regarding the export of waste tyres between 28 October and 15 December 2025, 605 are from sites that have a T8 exemption.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to extend the enhanced verification procedure for the export of end-of-life tyres beyond April 2026.

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

The Environment Agency will publish further information on the enhanced verification checks in Spring 2026.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what is his Department's policy on the recycling of aluminium in the UK.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK 2024 Criticality Assessment, commissioned by the Department for Business and Trade, recognises aluminium as a critical mineral essential to the UK’s green energy transition.

The Government recognises the importance of scrap metals, including aluminium. As we develop the Circular Economy Growth Plan, we will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what interventions may be needed.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on which countries critical mineral waste and scrap are exported under licence for recycling.

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

Defra does not maintain a list of businesses that export waste from the UK. Any exporter that is not the original waste producer must be registered as a waste broker or dealer. Details of registered brokers and dealers in England can be found on the public register, available at: https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

Information on the destination of waste exported from the UK is publicly available here: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will publish a list of companies that have a licence to export critical mineral waste and scrap for recycling abroad.

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

Defra does not maintain a list of businesses that export waste from the UK. Any exporter that is not the original waste producer must be registered as a waste broker or dealer. Details of registered brokers and dealers in England can be found on the public register, available at: https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

Information on the destination of waste exported from the UK is publicly available here: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/

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Found: Amber Valley) Sir Ashley Fox (Conservative; Bridgwater) Warinder Juss (Labour; Wolverhampton West) Tessa Munt

Found: Tessa Munt: Thank you.

Found: Q438 Tessa Munt: Thank you.

Found: Q438 Tessa Munt: Thank you.