Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he has made an assessment of the potential impact the European Commission’s plan to introduce new EU export trade measures on the UK’s aluminium recycling industry; and if he is seeking an exemption from those new regulations.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Business and Trade has not made a formal assessment of the potential impact of these EU measures on the UK's aluminium recycling industry. We are closely monitoring this through ongoing industry engagement and expect to consider this further through the Business Secretary’s Industry Engagement Forum and the scrap metal working group announced in the Steel Strategy, which will also cover aluminium.
The EU is not currently enforcing aluminium export restrictions. The proposed new measures focus on restricting the export of aluminium scrap, rather than primary aluminium, with the aim of supporting domestic industry, decarbonisation, and circular‑economy objectives.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Iran conflict on the a) UK aluminium import and export markets and b) aims of the Critical Minerals Strategy.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade is closely monitoring the potential impact of the disruption to trade and supply chains on the UK economy as a result of the conflict in the Middle East. Businesses impacted such as those in the aluminium industry, are encouraged to continue sharing intelligence regarding the ongoing challenges to help inform the Government's response.
Any impact strengthens the imperative of the UK Critical Minerals Strategy, with its key objectives of optimising domestic production while building resilient UK and global supply networks across critical minerals, including aluminium.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many Annex VII documents relating to consignments of end-of-life tyres were submitted to the Environment Agency’s enhanced verification procedure between 2nd February 2026 and 2nd March 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Between 2 February 2026 and 2 March 2026 the Environment Agency received 1301 Annex VII pre-shipment submissions relating to the export of waste tyres/rubber to India.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her response of 25 February 2026 to question UIN 113530, what assessment she has made of the reasons that issues with Indian Customs and transport have disproportionately affected 16 of the 50 approved sites for receiving end-of-life tyres.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is thoroughly reviewing why there is post-shipment information outstanding beyond the eight-week deadline from 16 of the 50 approved sites.
Their assessment of information from overseas partners, operators and the World Customs Organization suggest that, while an eight‑week timeframe is sometimes achievable, it does not reflect current global logistics timelines.
The EA’s is satisfied that extending the deadline from eight to sixteen weeks is reasonable based on the available data. This is because it continues to strengthen traceability and compliance, and provides better protection for legitimate operators, without undermining its work to ensure that waste tyres are managed appropriately.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, further to her response to Question UIN 106503 on 22nd January 2026, whether the regulations to remove the T8 exemption for the treatment of waste tyres have now been drafted and if she will provide an update on her timetable for laying those regulations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Work continues on the drafting of the legislation which covers the whole package of waste exemption reforms, including the removal of the T8 exemption, and the timing remains subject to Parliamentary time. When the Regulations come into force the published transition periods will begin. For the T8 exemption this is 3 months.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, further to her response of 12th February 2026 to question UIN 113530, how many of the 16 receiving sites that had failed to provide post-shipment Annex VII information have subsequently provided information on some consignments.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is working through a significant submission of data from exporters and will be able to confirm the position by 2 April 2026. Thus far, the EA is not aware of any additional information relating to any of the 16 sites.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will list the countries who have agreed to receive nationals who have been convicted of an offence in the UK; and what the arrangements are with each of those countries on prisoners serving the full term of the sentence handed down by the UK courts.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The removal of Foreign National Offenders with no right to stay in the UK to serve their sentences in their home countries is established Government policy. Prisoner transfers operate under binding legal multilateral or bilateral frameworks, known as Prisoner Transfer Agreements (PTAs), which set out robust obligations for recognising and enforcing UK sentences in accordance with the terms agreed. Of the countries the UK has a PTA with (listed in PQ tabled 3 March 2026 with Unique Identifying Number 117419), the UK has utilised the respective PTA arrangements to transfer individuals to the following countries:
Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United States of America, and Vietnam.
Under a PTA, the receiving State is required to recognise the sentence imposed by the UK courts and to enforce the full sentence, in line with the terms of the agreement and with its own domestic legal framework.
Generally, the receiving State would only adapt the sentence if it is more than the maximum sentence in that State. As part of the transfer application process, partner countries provide details of their proposed release arrangements, which are assessed carefully before approval. The UK only agrees to a transfer when satisfied that the receiving State will enforce the sentence appropriately.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what clinical criteria are under consideration for determining eligibility for any nationally prescribed specialised service for severe or very severe ME.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), final delivery plan, published on 22 July 2025, includes an action for the Department and NHS England to explore whether a specialised service should be prescribed by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for very severe ME/CFS. Officials from the Department have commenced discussions with NHS England on how best to take forward this action.
Three factors determine whether a service is a prescribed specialised service. These are: the number of individuals who require the service; the cost of providing the service or facility; and the number of people able to provide the service or facility.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many metric tonnes of processed aluminium were imported into the UK in each of last recorded five years; from which countries and in what quantities that processed aluminium was imported; and what information her Department holds on (a) how much was spent on purchasing and (b) which companies and government departments were the primary purchasers of processed aluminium in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK.
HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. You can build tables, using the commodity codes published in the UK Trade Tariff. Aluminium is classified in Chapter 76 of the tariff.
The website will give information on value, amounts and the countries involved. However, it will not identify imports by individual importers, whether by companies or government department. This would be in conflict with Section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA). CRCA restricts the information that HMRC may disclose publicly on persons making imports and exports. HMRC do publish a database of UK traders. This provides registered business names and addresses and when they have traded in specific goods with EU and non-EU countries. You can use this to look for traders who have imported aluminium, where they have permitted HMRC to publish their details.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.
Asked by: Tessa Munt (Liberal Democrat - Wells and Mendip Hills)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many metric tonnes of aluminium were exported from the UK for recycling in each of the last five years; to which countries was that aluminium exported; in what quantities was it exported; and how much income to the Exchequer was generated from the sale of that aluminium in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK.
HMRC releases this information monthly, as an Accredited National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com). From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. You can build tables, using the commodity codes published in the UK Trade Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. Aluminium is classified in Chapter 76 of the tariff.
The website will give information on value, amounts and the countries where the aluminium was sent. HMRC do not record the reason for export. Any applicable duties for the relevant commodity codes can also be found in the tariff.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.