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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the reasons why permits for battery recycling facilities, including the Fenix plant in Willenhall, were not authorised by the Environment Agency.

In the specific case, I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave to PQ HL5950. Generally, the most common reasons why a permit for installations may not be authorised are operator competence (ability to operate a regulated facility and fulfil the obligations of an operator), the activity posing unacceptable risk to people and the environment, or that insufficient information is provided to allow for assessment of potential impacts.