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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

The Government’s resources and waste reforms for England

Status: Closed Opened: 20 Jul 2023 Closed: 8 Mar 2024 12 recommendations 13 conclusions 1 report

What we do with household, commercial, industrial, construction and demolition waste has economic and environmental consequences. Disposal of plastic, food and garden waste can release greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change; in 2021 alone, disposal and treatment of waste represented 6% of UK greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018, the Government published its Resource and …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifth Report - Government’s programme of waste reforms HC 333 1 Dec 2023 25 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
2 Conclusion Fifth Report - Government’s programme o… Acknowledged

Set firm dates for clarifying producer responsibility fees and publishing simpler recycling consultation response.

Businesses and local authorities still do not have the clarity they need from the Department to prepare for the changes that will be required, which risks increasing costs and delaying implementation. The collection and packaging reforms are reliant on businesses and consumers changing their behaviour by producing less, and recycling …

Government response. The government agrees but its response details existing and ongoing work (CPR programme, WEEE, batteries regulations, MRMW) and future hopes without providing the firm dates or clarity requested for packaging fees, local authority funding impact, or the simpler recycling consultation …
HM Treasury
8 Conclusion Fifth Report - Government’s programme o… Acknowledged

Department claims waste reform programme has been reset and fully resourced.

The Department told us that its recent work on the reforms has amounted to a wider reset of the programme’s approach, and the programme is now fully resourced.15 It believes it has now addressed the weaknesses in its approach to the programme, and that the IPA’s review due this autumn …

Government response. The government agrees with the committee's observation, stating the November 2023 IPA review assessed the programme as 'amber' with concerns about DRS and pEPR. It commits to addressing outstanding issues via a detailed action plan and will update the committee …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
11 Sep 2023 Emma Bourne OBE · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Jane Cunliffe · Department for Education, Sarah Homer · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Susan Acland-Hood · The Department for Education, Tamara Finkelstein CB · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs View ↗