Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to address the barriers to remanufacturing identified in the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group's recent report on remanufacturing.

The Government welcomes the broad thrust of the All-Party Parliamentary Sustainable Resource Group's recent report Remanufacturing: Towards a resource efficient economy. It recognises the important role that remanufacturing has in supporting the long-term sustainability of the UK economy, encouraging resource resilience whilst boosting business opportunities and skilled employment.

BIS is working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and across Whitehall on a number of areas touched on by the report; such as the regulatory regime that governs waste, where work is already in progress to ensure that it encourages greater re-use of materials in existing and developing manufacturing processes.

We will use the report to inform a number of areas of policy that impact on sustainability and remanufacturing.