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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether local authorities will be required to spend the full funds generated through the extended producer responsibility scheme on waste (a) management and (b) processing.

Local authority grant funding for waste management through MHCLG block grants has not typically been ringfenced, to protect the sustainability and liquidity of local authority finances and protect principles of devolution. The additional income local authorities receive through pEPR is calculated to cover the modelled costs they incur in fulfilling their statutory waste management duties in regard to household packaging waste and should therefore be spent on waste management. We are encouraging local authorities to invest this income into their recycling services in the 2025 financial year. We recognise that packaging producers have a strong interest in ensuring pEPR fees are used to support transition to a circular economy and we are currently exploring options to support this ambition.

For year 1 of pEPR, we have agreed with HM Treasury and MHCLG that pEPR funding will be an additional revenue stream for local authorities. In England, Simpler Recycling introduces new standard for the management of dry recycling. We will focus on engagement with local authorities and encourage the use of this additional funding to help drive investment in additional infrastructure that may be needed to meet these standards.