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 6 February 2023 to Question 136754 on Packaging: Recycling, what steps her Department plans to take in adjusting the regulatory framework to deliver her Department's vision for what the EPR scheme in 10 years’ time.

Defra’s intention is that the regulations to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging will be introduced at the end of 2023. These regulations will reflect the policy set out in the Government response to the 2021 consultation, which was published in March 2022.

In parallel with drafting these regulations, the department is continuing to work with stakeholders to develop a future vision for our waste reforms programme over the longer term. As part of this work, we have recently embarked on an eight-week series of industry-wide Sprint events bringing together key stakeholders to obtain their input. Outputs from this process will need due consideration and may include subsequent amendments to the regulatory framework.