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 extended producer responsibility fees on the hospitality sector; and whether hospitality businesses are required to pay fees when a closed-loop waste and recycling system is in place.

In October 2024 the Government published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) scheme on packaging recycling rates. The impact assessment did not look at the specific impacts of the pEPR scheme on individual sectors, such as hospitality.

We are considering further improvements to the scheme, including how to treat businesses which run closed loop recycling systems that support the environmental outcomes of the scheme. My officials are reviewing options to bring forward an offset where obligated producers are operating closed loop recycling systems for food-grade plastic at the earliest opportunity.