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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that commercial and household waste continues to be collected in (a) Stoke-on-Trent, (b) Kidsgrove and (c) Talke.

Defra has worked with local government, other Government departments and the waste industry to produce and publish guidance to help local authorities manage their waste collection services and household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) during the Covid-19 outbreak. Defra officials also meet local authority and industry representatives weekly to share intelligence and to ensure that commercial and household waste can continue to be collected safely during the pandemic.

Weekly surveys indicate that, due to the hard work of those in the sector, nearly all English authorities are operating commercial and household waste collections as normal, with only a small percentage reporting minor disruption. Demand for commercial collections has dropped but services continue to operate for businesses that need them. The Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government and I wrote to local authorities on 5 May to thank those working to deliver waste services during the Covid-19 outbreak for the vital role they are playing in protecting the environment, public amenity and people’s health. We wrote a further letter on 28 June asking local authorities to ensure that as much access as possible is provided to HWRC services where this can be done safely.