Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 12
12
Accepted
Uncertainty regarding EPR scheme funding and timeline hinders local authority preparation and investment.
Recommendation
The Department suggests the delay in implementation of extended producer responsibility scheme is in part to allow councils more time to prepare and adjust services. However, we remain concerned that councils cannot use the additional time to prepare until they receive a timeline for implementation and confirmation of funding.25 For 15 Qq 9 & 22 16 Qq 27, 29 17 Q 23 18 C&AG’s Report, para 2.20 19 C&AG’s Report, paras 20, 22 and figure 8 20 Q 9 21 C&AG’s Report, paras 1.3 and 2.6 22 Correspondence from Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs, 21 September 2023; C&AG’s Report, para 1.3 23 GRWR0032 24 Q 13 25 Qq 10, 11 12 Government’s programme of waste reforms example, if this lack of clarity on the funding implications is only resolved near the start date for the new EPR scheme, this could mean that many local authorities start the process of procuring new lorries and bins around the same time. This could put pressure on supply chains and mean it takes longer than Defra expects for all local authorities to collect waste as required. In written evidence, the Districts Councils’ Network and Local Government Association highlighted how continued uncertainty around the requirements of the programme is actively hampering councils from investing and improving their services, delaying procurement, and undermining local authorities’ efforts to increase recycling rates.26
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee, stating local authorities will be informed of their estimated EPR payment amounts for 2025-26 in November 2024. It also provides timelines for producer fee enforcement and invoicing, and highlights the recent publication of the Simpler Recycling consultation response, providing clearer implementation dates.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: November 2024 2.2 All small and large obligated producers must pay a fee to the appropriate regulator of the pEPR scheme on registration. Producers must have registered by 1 October 2023 but the regulators have agreed, by means of a Regulatory Position Statement, that they will not enforce this requirement until after 31 May 2024, effectively giving producers an additional eight months to pay their fee. The level of the fee will be set out in the pEPR regulations. 2.3 The department expects producers obligated as ‘large producers’ under the pEPR regime to be issued with an invoice for their first year’s fees as soon after July 2025 as the Scheme Administrator has the processes in place to be able to do so. Final base fees (in £/tonne of packaging material placed on the market) can only be calculated after April 2025 which is the deadline for producers to report the amount of packaging placed on the market in 2024. Given these timeframes, the department expects to be regularly publishing estimates (“illustrative base fees”). These estimates are expected to be based in a first instance on data reported by producers for the year 2023. The process for subsequent years will need to be confirmed by the Scheme Administrator once established. 2.4 The department expects that local authorities will be informed of their estimated payment amount for 2025-26 in November 2024. 2.5 On 21 October 2023, the department published the government response to the Simpler Recycling consultation, formerly titled Consistency in Recycling in England. This laid out the materials in scope of collections and the implementation dates for Simpler Recycling. 2.6 The department also launched a Consultation on additional policies related to Simpler Recycling in England, and separately consulted the relevant parties on exemptions and statutory guidance for Simpler Recycling in England. Both consultations closed on 20 November 2023 and the department is currently analysing the responses.