Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the potential impact of extended producer responsibility levies on business (a) competitiveness and (b) operating costs.

The Government has listened to feedback from small businesses and introduced support measures to help compliance with EPR, including: exemptions from fee obligations for producers with annual turnover below £2 million and packaging tonnage below 50 tonnes; exemptions from reporting for businesses with turnover below £1 million and packaging tonnage below 25 tonnes; and flexibility for those with obligations to pay in quarterly instalments.

Both Secretaries of State will shortly be meeting representatives from across the impacted sectors, from Small and Medium Enterprises to larger companies alike, to discuss the economic impact of EPR in more detail.