Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the chemicals strategy.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment and we will set out our priorities for addressing risks from chemicals in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the metals recycling industry regarding the impact of introducing a fixed-rate deposit return scheme on the recycling rates of aluminium.
Answered by Lord Douglas-Miller - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
DEFRA engage stakeholders across industry, including material manufacturers and the metals sector.
Regarding the issue of deposit levels, the deposit return scheme will have a central body to manage its operation; this role is to be undertaken by a new industry not-for-profit body, the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO). The DMO will be responsible for setting the deposit level within parameters set out in the regulations. The DMO will be required to consult all those with an interest in the scheme in setting the deposit level(s). The DMO will have the ability to set either a fixed rate or variable rate deposit (which could vary by drinks container size, format or material type).
Asked by: Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many unlicensed metal recyclers have been prosecuted in the past (1) three years, (2) five years, and (3) 10 years; and what steps they are taking to increase the number of prosecutions.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We absolutely recognise the distress and disruption metal theft can cause, not only to businesses, but also local communities.
The latest published statistics for the year ending March 2023 showed the number of metal theft offences recorded by the police in England and Wales was down by 54% compared with the year ending March 2013.
The Government supported the introduction of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 to reverse an upward trend in the level of metal theft through better regulation of the metal recycling sector, making it more difficult to dispose of stolen metal. The 2013 Act requires anyone carrying on business as a scrap metal dealer to be licensed by their local authority. The Act also provides police and licensing authority officers with a power to issue a closure notice if they are satisfied the premises are not licensed but are being used by a scrap metal dealer in the course of business; and to subsequently apply to the magistrates’ court for a closure order.
The Home Office continues to work closely with the National Police Chief Councils (NPCC) through the NPCC Metal Crime Steering Group, which brings together partner agencies to ensure a robust response to metal theft.
The Home Office also provided funding in the financial year 2020-21 to establish the National Infrastructure Crime Reduction Partnership. The Partnership ensures the national co-ordination of policing and law enforcement partners to tackle metal theft. Membership of the Partnership includes infrastructure companies such as rail, telecoms and utility companies, who work together to monitor trends in metal theft, share intelligence, target offenders and implement crime prevention measures. The Partnership has provided training for over 2000 police officers and other agencies in the responsibilities under the Act and how to enforce it.
Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on the ‘Criminal Justice System’ for England and Wales every quarter. This includes ‘summary offences under Scrap Metal Dealers Act’; The statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-june-2023.