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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to ensure that funding derived from Extended Producer Responsibility fees will be ringfenced to support local authorities to improve their recycling provision.

We have instructed PackUK to exercise its existing powers within the pEPR regulations to ensure local authorities in England only receive pEPR funds that are spent on household packaging, waste management, and recycling. When local authority payments are confirmed in July, PackUK will write directly to all English local authority chief executives setting this out. If a local authority does not spend the funds as specified, PackUK will use its regulatory powers to deduct funds accordingly for the following year’s payment.