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 potential impact of proposed waste reforms on local authorities such as Walsall Council.

The Government remains committed to supporting councils in delivering the collection and packaging reforms. Between Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) and Simpler Recycling, we have already invested over £1.4 billion in English local authorities to improve recycling collections, benefitting every household. We have guaranteed councils £1.1 billion income from pEPR this financial year, alongside having already invested over £340 million to support councils on weekly food collections. Simpler Recycling is estimated to decrease local authorities' net waste service costs by £211 million by 2035 (2023 prices, discounted; source: The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2025).