Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to decrease the time taken to provide Environment Agency accreditation approvals.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is committed to reducing the time taken to determine accreditation applications. While the Packaging Regulations set a 12‑week statutory determination period, the new regulations now require more detailed information from operators. The EA has expanded its resources dedicated to assessing these more comprehensive applications.
To support quicker and higher‑quality submissions, the EA has also updated its guidance, increased pre‑application support, and engaged extensively with industry through events and webinars. These steps are already helping to reduce avoidable delays caused by incomplete or low‑quality applications.
The EA will continue to refine its processes, streamline assessment where possible, and work with industry to ensure applications can be determined as quickly as the regulations allow.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of providing financial support or temporary relief for recyclers affected by the loss of PRN income.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As the PRN/PERN market remains operational and has not closed, our focus is on delivering functionality of a new digital system as soon as possible. The Government is working closely with affected businesses to understand the impact of the delay to delivery of the new PRN digital system and are committed to continuing to work closely with them to resolve the issue.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether staffing levels at the Environment Agency are adequate to manage the transition to the new PRN system.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) has increased staffing to ensure it can manage the transition to the new PRN system and deliver its regulatory duties under the new packaging regulations. Additional resource has been allocated to support both the new operational requirements and the bedding‑in of the updated IT system.
The EA will continue to monitor resourcing levels closely and adjust as necessary to ensure a smooth transition for industry and effective regulatory oversight.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many reprocessors and exporters are awaiting accreditation approval from the Environment Agency as of January 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
As of 28 January 2026, the Environment Agency has received 294 Accreditation applications, of these 237 have been assessed and determined.
Of the remainder, 28 applications are still under assessment and 29 were incomplete and have not progressed to the assessment stage.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether an impact assessment on recycling companies was conducted prior to the closure of the existing PRN/PERN system in January 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Risks to delivery of the new PRN/PERN system were assessed and a broad range of delivery options were considered. The previous system (the National Waste Packaging Database) does not have the capability to support delivery of new regulatory requirements which take effect for 2026. It is not feasible to run two systems in parallel during the year, given that the PRN market operates on a calendar year basis. Defra is working hard to resolve issues as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to businesses.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she considered putting measures in place to ensure a new digital PRN system was in place prior to the closure of the previous system.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Risks to delivery of the new PRN/PERN system were assessed and a broad range of delivery options were considered. The previous system (the National Waste Packaging Database) does not have the capability to support delivery of new regulatory requirements which take effect for 2026. It is not feasible to run two systems in parallel during the year, given that the PRN market operates on a calendar year basis. Defra is working hard to resolve issues as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to businesses.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of poultry and egg imports from Ukraine on the UK market following the extension of tariff free access in February 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Under our Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2026.
Ukrainian imports of poultry and eggs currently constitute a small proportion of the UK’s total imports of these products. We consistently consider the views of industry and impact of imports on the UK market from all countries, including from Ukraine. We will continue to take these views into account as part of our policy development process.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the UK-EU reset agreement, whether her Department has undertaken a cost benefit analysis in relation to its agreement to extend the fisheries arrangements.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK-EU Summit Deal announced on 19 May secures the continuation of current UK-EU fishing access arrangements. This means continued access for UK vessels to EU waters, worth £80m annually, and retention of the quota uplift the UK secured through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. That boost, worth £175m in fishing opportunities in 2025, remains fully in place under the new deal. We have also secured a new SPS Agreement, which could add up to £5.1bn a year to our economy in the long run. The latest fisheries access agreement should therefore not be viewed in isolation. The benefits to the fisheries sector arise not only from the access provisions themselves but also from the SPS Agreement, which will increase opportunities for UK seafood exporters. Taken together, these provisions support growth, stability, and new opportunities for the UK’s fishing industry. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has conducted analysis on the impact of various fishing arrangements to the UK, relative to the years 2021-2025.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the financial resilience of Thames Water.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our current assessment is that the company remains financially stable. The Government has stepped up our preparations and stands ready for all eventualities, including applying for a SAR if that were to become necessary. The Government will continue to work with the economic regulator of the water industry Ofwat to help support a market led solution to the company’s issues of financial resilience and operational delivery, which is in the interests of customers and the environment.
Asked by: Aphra Brandreth (Conservative - Chester South and Eddisbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the capacity of Thames Water to prevent sewage discharges.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has put down the building blocks to clean up England’s rivers, lakes and seas. We are rebuilding the water network to slash pollution levels, backed by a record £104 billion of investment, which includes over £10 billion to reduce sewage discharges from over 2,500 storm overflows in England.
Over 2025-30, Thames Water are expected to deliver a 29% reduction in spills from storm overflows and reduce pollution incidents by 30%. They are also expected to invest £1.2 billion to prevent harmful nutrients polluting rivers.
As part of the Environment Act 2021, a duty has been created for water and sewerage companies in England and Wales, including Thames Water, to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs).
These plans will help sewerage companies to fully assess the capacity of the drainage and wastewater network, develop collaborative solutions to current problems and future issues and bring together key stakeholders including local authorities and industry regulators.
We are introducing root and branch reform so that the water sector works for the British people. Working in partnership with water companies, investors and communities, the Government will introduce a new water reform bill early this Parliament.