Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential impact of Extended Producer Responsibility on breweries and pubs in (a) the UK, (b) Europe and (c) internationally.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 4th April 2025, UIN 42346.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to reduce the number of dogs permitted to travel across international borders to three per non-commercial vehicle.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is supporting the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill. The Bill will close loopholes in the non-commercial pet travel rules that are abused by unscrupulous traders by reducing the number of dogs, cats and ferrets that can enter Great Britain in one non-commercial movement to five per vehicle or three per foot or air passenger.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information his Department holds on what extended producer responsibility fee rates are for glass packaging used in the hospitality sector in (a) the UK and (b) other European countries.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Illustrative fee-rates for the UK packaging extended producer responsibility (pEPR) scheme in the UK have been published on GOV.UK and we expect to publish final fee-rates June 2025. Fee-rates vary depending on the material that is used. As part of the development of the UK's pEPR scheme, we have studied mature pEPR schemes across Europe and the rest of the world. This has included looking at their fee rates and how they were calculated. Illustrative base fee estimates for the UK are in the same order of magnitude of other countries’ fees. However, comparisons are not straightforward because of differences in waste infrastructure and waste management approaches.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with relevant authorities to protect the ecosystems of mountain ranges.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Mountain ranges, and specifically the montane habitats they contain, can support a unique flora and fauna. They receive the same statutory protection as other nationally important sites in England. The Cumbria High Fells for example has 110 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that cover about 18 per cent or 35,852 hectares (ha) of the area. The majority of this SSSI area (31,286 ha) is also designated under the Habitats Regulations as ‘Special Areas of Conservation’ (SAC). |
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department issues import permits for hunting trophies of cheetahs.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), an executive agency of Defra, is responsible for issuing import permits for hunting trophies. APHA only issue import permits when the strict criteria set out in the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations are satisfied, including that the import does not have a detrimental impact on the conservation status of a species.
Data on permits issued for hunting trophies is publicly available on the CITES trade database - https://trade.cites.org/
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with industry representatives on the potential merits of introducing fee (a) exemptions and (b) reductions in the extended producer responsibility scheme to prevent double charging of packaging waste in the pub sector.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with local authorities on access to affordable glass recycling services by pubs.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities have a duty to arrange the collection of commercial waste when requested to by an occupier of a premise in its area. This may mean providing a service or entering into a contract with a private waste collector. There is no requirement for waste collection authorities to begin offering collection services to premises where they do not already have a service in place, unless a request is made by any such premises. All services arranged by the local authority to collect commercial waste must be compliant with Simpler Recycling from 31 March 2025, unless the micro-firm exemption applies (which allows workplaces with less than 10 full-time equivalent employees an additional 2 years to comply, until 31 March 2027). Simpler Recycling requires collection of glass, either as part of a dry mixed recycling service, or through a dedicated glass collection (depending on the preference of the local authority). It also requires the collection of the other core materials: plastic, metal, paper and card, and food waste.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the (a) cost and (b) complexity of the implementation of extended producer responsibility regulations in (i) the UK and (ii) other G7 economies.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There has been no formal assessment, but these matters were all considered in depth during the policy development and consultation process under the previous government.
Illustrative base fee estimates for the UK are in the same order of magnitude of other countries’ fees. However, comparisons are not straightforward because of differences in waste infrastructure and waste management approaches.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
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 merits of allowing local councils to facilitate glass recycling for hospitality businesses if they choose to cancel their commercial waste contracts.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities have a duty to arrange the collection of commercial waste when requested to by an occupier of a premise in its area. This may mean providing a service or entering into a contract with a private waste collector. There is no requirement for waste collection authorities to begin offering collection services to premises where they do not already have a service in place, unless a request is made by any such premises. All services arranged by the local authority to collect commercial waste must be compliant with Simpler Recycling from 31 March 2025, unless the micro-firm exemption applies (which allows workplaces with less than 10 full-time equivalent employees an additional 2 years to comply, until 31 March 2027). Simpler Recycling requires collection of glass, either as part of a dry mixed recycling service, or through a dedicated glass collection (depending on the preference of the local authority). It also requires the collection of the other core materials: plastic, metal, paper and card, and food waste.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent the double counting of packaging waste in pubs under the extended producer responsibility scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority.