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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to decrease the time taken to provide Environment Agency accreditation approvals.

The Environment Agency (EA) is committed to reducing the time taken to determine accreditation applications. While the Packaging Regulations set a 12‑week statutory determination period, the new regulations now require more detailed information from operators. The EA has expanded its resources dedicated to assessing these more comprehensive applications.

To support quicker and higher‑quality submissions, the EA has also updated its guidance, increased pre‑application support, and engaged extensively with industry through events and webinars. These steps are already helping to reduce avoidable delays caused by incomplete or low‑quality applications.

The EA will continue to refine its processes, streamline assessment where possible, and work with industry to ensure applications can be determined as quickly as the regulations allow.