Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of the administrative cost of operating the Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility scheme to (a) Government, (b) PackUK, (c) local authorities and (d) obligated producers; what assessment she has made of the accuracy of producer data submitted during the first year of the scheme; and what steps she is taking to improve the accuracy of future fee calculations.

The 2024 impact assessment assessed Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) administrative impacts, including producer reporting costs. PackUK is responsible for operating the scheme on behalf of the four UK nations. PackUK administration costs for 2025/26 were £18 million. Local authority payments for 2025/26 were £1.43 billion, covering the efficient costs of managing household packaging waste. Environmental regulators monitor and assure producer compliance and data accuracy. Defra, PackUK, and regulators are improving future fee calculations using refined guidance and calculations, and strengthening compliance activity, which has brought almost 1,800 additional obligated producers into compliance.