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 an assessment of the potential impact of higher modulated fees on the grounds of lower recyclability under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on businesses (a) using and (b) producing (i) natural cork products and (ii) other materials subject to higher fees.

Defra officials are currently collating the evidence received from an extended programme of stakeholder engagement on modulated fees which was carried out over the second half of 2023. This engagement has included consideration of cork and other natural products. The Government intends to seek further stakeholder input in this area, including to further assess business impact, before finalising any proposals. The final decisions on packaging materials with increased fees will be agreed and announced by the Scheme Administrator for the UK Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging.