Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 73
To ensure the tax is delivering its intended impacts, the Government should publish an analysis...
Recommendation
To ensure the tax is delivering its intended impacts, the Government should publish an analysis of the impact of the tax by the end of financial year 2023/4. This evaluation should test the effectiveness of its verification systems and evaluate whether the tax rate is high enough to bring about the behaviour changes needed amongst producers whilst protecting low-income households. The tax should also be benchmarked against comparable international initiatives.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the recommendation to publish an analysis of the impact of the tax but refers to pEPR scheme administrator policies, and rejects hypothecating fees towards research.
Paragraph Reference:
73
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
The government has laid the first regulation required to obligate producers to collate and report their packaging data for 2023. This will allow the pEPR Scheme Administrator to calculate producer fees and payments to local authorities in financial year 2024/2025. There will be a requirement in regulations for the pEPR Scheme Administrator to prepare and issue a statement of its policy with respect to varying (modulating) the fees to be charged to producers and to seek the views of businesses on its proposals. The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation to hypothecate fees towards research. Producer fees will pay for the collection and management of packaging waste produced by households and disposed of in street bins provided by local authorities. Indeed, the provisions in the Environment Act 2021 provide for regulations to be made requiring those involved in manufacturing, processing distributing or supplying products or materials to meet, or to contribute to, the disposal costs of these products or materials, meaning that the costs paid by producers cannot be hypothecated to fund research. pEPR is in most part a cost transfer. It will transfer the costs of dealing with packaging waste generated by households from taxpayers to the packaging producers, applying the ‘polluter-pays principle’. It will also support the costs of introducing new and improved services for the collection and management of packaging waste such as the collection of recyclable plastic films and flexible packaging for recycling.