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.

World Cancer Day and breast cancer

Nuclear Regulatory Review and habitats regulations

Somerset Bus Partnership and Bus Users UK Awards 2025

Parliamentary screening of The Removed and historic forced adoptions

Sinking of SS Tilawa

UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons

Deregistration of international non-governmental organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories