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 (a) food packaging producers, (b) food manufacturers and (c) food and drink retailers on their preparedness for meeting the requirements of the extended producer responsibility regulations from 1 January 2023; and if he will make it his policy to ensure that the requirement on producers to take responsibility for the environmental impact of single use plastic packaging does not result in increased food costs for consumers.

The Secretary of State has had introductory meetings with some representatives from the listed categories of businesses. Given that Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (packaging EPR) will place new obligations on these businesses, this was discussed at this meeting. I am also aware that in preparing to implement packaging EPR, Defra officials and previous ministers have engaged extensively with the relevant stakeholders, including those from the food and drink sector. This has included the Food and Drink Federation and the British Retail Consortium.

Packaging EPR will see a transfer of costs from local taxpayers to the obligated producers who make and use packaging. It will, however, be for those obligated producers to decide if they will pass the costs on by increasing prices or reduce their costs by improving and reducing their packaging.