Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her department's policies of the National Security Assessment on Global Ecosystems, published 20th January 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nature underpins our security, prosperity, and resilience, and understanding the threats we face from biodiversity loss is essential to addressing them effectively. The assessment published 20 January 2026 has implications across a wide range of Defra policy areas, including food and farming, water, international biodiversity, and climate adaptation.
The assessment is a strategic analysis rather than a prediction. It is designed to help the Government plan for potential shocks that are credible enough to warrant preparation. This approach ensures the UK is better equipped to anticipate and manage risks should they arise. Publishing the assessment also supports international cooperation on shared biodiversity challenges.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. Defra contributed to the 2025 UK National Security Strategy, which recognises climate and nature degradation as strategic risks, and is supporting its implementation. Defra also supports the Government’s Defence Energy and Capability Resilience Centre of Excellence, announced under the Defence Industrial Strategy, which will strengthen UK resilience by harnessing innovation in dual-use energy technologies and circular economy approaches.
This work complements wider cross-government efforts to build long-term stability across food, energy, and environmental systems.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Defence on the National Security Assessment on Global Ecosystems, published on 20 January 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Nature underpins our security, prosperity, and resilience, and understanding the threats we face from biodiversity loss is essential to addressing them effectively. The assessment published 20 January 2026 has implications across a wide range of Defra policy areas, including food and farming, water, international biodiversity, and climate adaptation.
The assessment is a strategic analysis rather than a prediction. It is designed to help the Government plan for potential shocks that are credible enough to warrant preparation. This approach ensures the UK is better equipped to anticipate and manage risks should they arise. Publishing the assessment also supports international cooperation on shared biodiversity challenges.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues. Defra contributed to the 2025 UK National Security Strategy, which recognises climate and nature degradation as strategic risks, and is supporting its implementation. Defra also supports the Government’s Defence Energy and Capability Resilience Centre of Excellence, announced under the Defence Industrial Strategy, which will strengthen UK resilience by harnessing innovation in dual-use energy technologies and circular economy approaches.
This work complements wider cross-government efforts to build long-term stability across food, energy, and environmental systems.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
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 potential impact that the impairment fee applied under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme will have on business cashflow and financial stability.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Incorporating impairment provisions for bad debt in a cost recovery scheme is an expected consideration of Government as detailed in Managing Public Money guidelines and is common practice when setting fees. Whilst Notice of Liabilities issued under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme are due for payment after 50 calendar days, liable producers have the facility to pay in quarterly instalments. These impairment provisions can only be used for specific purposes and will be subject to regular scrutiny and review. Where the impairment provision isn’t fully utilised, liable producers will be given a refund.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has held discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential impact of the impairment fee on financial pressures on the British brewing sector.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Incorporating impairment provisions for bad debt in a cost recovery scheme is an expected consideration of Government as detailed in Managing Public Money guidelines and is common practice when setting fees. Additionally, Managing Public Money guidelines advise that cross subsidies are not standard practice.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the impairment fee under the extended producer responsibility scheme on future impairment costs.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The impairment provision is based on the bad debt experience of Defra with charging schemes that are most similar to pEPR, whilst taking into consideration the large values of some of our Notice of Liabilities. It will be subject to regular review based on past, current and future customer payment behaviours. To minimise the impairment and provide transparency, PackUK intends to collect debt rigorously but fairly and will review the impairment provision at least quarterly.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
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 implications for his policies of the classification by the Office for Budget Responsibility of the extended producer responsibility scheme as a tax on production.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Whilst pEPR was announced a few years ago, Defra has now built a modelling framework to calculate local authority costs and producer fees that was used for the first time by the OBR to include pEPR in their forecast. Pending a decision by the ONS, the OBR have recorded pEPR disposal fees as a tax in their forecast on the advice of Treasury classification experts, whose indicative views is that the ONS will likely classify the income stream as a tax when they formally classify the scheme.
This technical classification does not affect the distribution of revenue to local authorities. Revenue from pEPR will be distributed directly by PackUK, the scheme administrator, to local authorities. It will not be diverted to the Treasury or central government finances.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
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 Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the extended producer responsibility scheme on local economic growth.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, including extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) and the packaging reforms more broadly.
These reforms, pEPR, Simpler Recycling and the Deposit Return Scheme, will deliver positive environmental and economic benefits, creating 21,000 new jobs in our nations and regions, and stimulating more than £ 10 billion investment in recycling capability over the next decade.