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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department asked the Office for the Internal Market for advice on the potential impact of agreeing to the Welsh Government's exclusion from the internal market for single-use glass containers in the Deposit Return Scheme in Wales.

The UK Government did not refer the Welsh Government's proposal for a UKIM exclusion for its Deposit Return Scheme to the Office for Internal Market (OIM) for advice. As part of our commitments in the review of the UK Internal Market Act in 2025, the UK Government is working with devolved Governments to implement a system for joint referrals by all Governments to the OIM for advice, earlier in policy development and to inform the decision-making process.