Written questions by Brandreth.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the PRN system disruption on small and medium-sized reprocessors.

The Government is working closely with key trade associations and industry stakeholders to understand the potential impact of delays to the availability of the new PRN digital system, particularly on smaller reprocessors and exporters, and in the plastics and glass recycling sectors. Based on consultation with stakeholders, we have prioritised providing the data that would help them most and support them to continue trading more confidently. The Government committed to keeping affected businesses updated and have issued weekly updates in addition to our helpdesk service. As part of our outreach to businesses, we are encouraging businesses them to share any key feedback and insights on the impact of the delays with us. The Government will continue to meet with sector bodies and compliance schemes on a weekly basis during February to monitor impacts on businesses and PRN prices.

Food and Rural Affairs, how will PRN data be accuracy maintained, in the context of lengths of shipping times for exported material.

Recent regulatory changes seek to ensure that exporters provide and maintain accurate, verifiable data to help combat fraud within the system. This includes ensuring that packaging waste that leaves the UK for recycling reaches its intended destination before PERNs can be issued, helping to drive down fraud in the system. Changes in the regulations mean that PRN evidence can now only be issued once the material has been confirmed as received by the overseas recycling facility. Before this change evidence could be issued at the point of export. This will increase the accuracy of the data.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether an impact assessment on recycling companies was conducted prior to the closure of the existing PRN/PERN system in January 2026.

Risks to delivery of the new PRN/PERN system were assessed and a broad range of delivery options were considered. The previous system (the National Waste Packaging Database) does not have the capability to support delivery of new regulatory requirements which take effect for 2026. It is not feasible to run two systems in parallel during the year, given that the PRN market operates on a calendar year basis. Defra is working hard to resolve issues as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to businesses.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered the potential merits of providing financial support or temporary relief for recyclers affected by the loss of PRN income.

As the PRN/PERN market remains operational and has not closed, our focus is on delivering functionality of a new digital system as soon as possible. The Government is working closely with affected businesses to understand the impact of the delay to delivery of the new PRN digital system and are committed to continuing to work closely with them to resolve the issue.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of requiring exporters to claim PRNs only once material has reached its final destination on those exporters.

Recent regulatory changes seek to ensure that exporters provide and maintain accurate, verifiable data to help combat fraud within the system. This includes ensuring that packaging waste that leaves the UK for recycling reaches its intended destination before PERNs can be issued, helping to drive down fraud in the system. Changes in the regulations mean that PRN evidence can now only be issued once the material has been confirmed as received by the overseas recycling facility. Before this change evidence could be issued at the point of export. This will increase the accuracy of the data.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether steps have been put in place to allow retrospective PRN/PERN registrations for the period during which the market has been closed.

The PRN/PERN market remains operational. Contracts, sales and payments for PRNs & PERNs remain outside the digital system and operators are able to enter into agreements to contract sales before the PRN/PERN digital functionality is in place. Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 a new requirement was introduced mandating all packaging waste recyclers to be registered from 2026. The Environment Agency and Defra created an interim application system which opened on 1 September 2025 enabling operators to submit Registration and Accreditation applications.  Accredited operators can engage with producers & compliance schemes directly to agree contractual terms for the supply of PRN/PERNs. We are making good progress on the delivery of capability for accredited operators to be able to record and issue PRN/PERNs in the digital service.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps are being taken to decrease the time taken to provide Environment Agency accreditation approvals.

The Environment Agency (EA) is committed to reducing the time taken to determine accreditation applications. While the Packaging Regulations set a 12‑week statutory determination period, the new regulations now require more detailed information from operators. The EA has expanded its resources dedicated to assessing these more comprehensive applications. To support quicker and higher‑quality submissions, the EA has also updated its guidance, increased pre‑application support, and engaged extensively with industry through events and webinars. These steps are already helping to reduce avoidable delays caused by incomplete or low‑quality applications. The EA will continue to refine its processes, streamline assessment where possible, and work with industry to ensure applications can be determined as quickly as the regulations allow.

Food and Rural Affairs, what contingency arrangements have been put in place to allow PRN/PERN registration while the new system is unavailable.

The PRN/PERN market remains operational. Contracts, sales and payments for PRNs & PERNs remain outside the digital system and operators are able to enter into agreements to contract sales before the PRN/PERN digital functionality is in place. Under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 a new requirement was introduced mandating all packaging waste recyclers to be registered from 2026. The Environment Agency and Defra created an interim application system which opened on 1 September 2025 enabling operators to submit Registration and Accreditation applications.  Accredited operators can engage with producers & compliance schemes directly to agree contractual terms for the supply of PRN/PERNs. We are making good progress on the delivery of capability for accredited operators to be able to record and issue PRN/PERNs in the digital service.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she considered putting measures in place to ensure a new digital PRN system was in place prior to the closure of the previous system.

Risks to delivery of the new PRN/PERN system were assessed and a broad range of delivery options were considered. The previous system (the National Waste Packaging Database) does not have the capability to support delivery of new regulatory requirements which take effect for 2026. It is not feasible to run two systems in parallel during the year, given that the PRN market operates on a calendar year basis. Defra is working hard to resolve issues as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to businesses.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether staffing levels at the Environment Agency are adequate to manage the transition to the new PRN system.

The Environment Agency (EA) has increased staffing to ensure it can manage the transition to the new PRN system and deliver its regulatory duties under the new packaging regulations. Additional resource has been allocated to support both the new operational requirements and the bedding‑in of the updated IT system. The EA will continue to monitor resourcing levels closely and adjust as necessary to ensure a smooth transition for industry and effective regulatory oversight.

Food and Rural Affairs, how many reprocessors and exporters are awaiting accreditation approval from the Environment Agency as of January 2026.

As of 28 January 2026, the Environment Agency has received 294 Accreditation applications, of these 237 have been assessed and determined. Of the remainder, 28 applications are still under assessment and 29 were incomplete and have not progressed to the assessment stage.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she will take to ensure that future regulatory changes to the PRN system support market operation.

The Government will be consulting on further changes to the PRN system shortly, as announced by the Chancellor in the 2025 Budget, and will continue to work closely with affected business to ensure that the measures taken forward support the effective operation of the PRN market.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the shortened PRN trading year in 2026 on levels of price volatility in that sector.

The Government is working closely with key trade associations and industry stakeholders to understand the potential impact of delays to the availability of the new PRN digital system, particularly on smaller reprocessors and exporters, and in the plastics and glass recycling sectors. Based on consultation with stakeholders, we have prioritised providing the data that would help them most and support them to continue trading more confidently. The Government committed to keeping affected businesses updated and have issued weekly updates in addition to our helpdesk service. As part of our outreach to businesses, we are encouraging businesses them to share any key feedback and insights on the impact of the delays with us. The Government will continue to meet with sector bodies and compliance schemes on a weekly basis during February to monitor impacts on businesses and PRN prices.

Whether full implementation of the McCloud judgement remedy will be completed by April 2027.

Capita, having assumed responsibility for the Civil Service Pension Scheme in December 2025, is currently preparing a delivery plan for the remaining 2015 Remedy work. The Cabinet Office expects the majority of the remaining Remediable Service Statements (RSS) will be issued by April 2027.

When she plans to publish a consultation on setting speed limits.

The update to Setting Local Speed Limits guidance is under development and will be informed by research and evidence. Considerations in relation to consulting will be set out in due course.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of reducing the number of police community support officers in Cheshire on levels of crime in that area.

The Government’s Safer Streets Mission sets a clear expectation for policing to deliver safer communities and improved public confidence. An effective, well-supported police service is central to achieving this.Based on their £3,009,490 allocation from the Neighbourhood Policing Grant, Cheshire Police is projected to grow by 48 FTE neighbourhood police officers in 2025-26.It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions, to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate the resources at their disposal to provide an effective service to local communities.

What assessments she has made of trends in the levels of recruitment and retention in Cheshire Police; and how many officers have (a) left and (b) joined the force since July 2024.

Forces are expected to manage their recruitment and retention activities to ensure that they meet officer headcount targets linked to funding arrangements set out in the Police Funding Settlement.Data on joiners and leavers is published annually in July, including data for the previous year to 31 March. For the last full year that data is available (April 2024 to March 2025) Cheshire Police saw an increase in joiners of 17.1% (178 full time equivalents) alongside an increase in leavers of 4.5% (7 full time equivalents).

What steps he is taking to ensure that policing capacity is maintained in areas experiencing (a) increased community demand and (b) a reduction in policing numbers.

The Government is committed to ensuring police forces are supported to tackle crime effectively. As part of our mission to deliver safer streets, we will restore neighbourhood policing and support forces to rebuild relationships with their local communities.The 2025-26 final police funding settlement provided funding of up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. This is an overall increase of up to £1.2 billion when compared to the 2024-25 settlement.This includes a total of up to £376.8 million specifically to support forces to achieve officer headcounts set out in the Police Funding Settlement and £200m to kick start the growth in neighbourhood policing personnel.It is for Chief Constables and directly elected PCCs, and Mayors with PCC functions, to make operational decisions based on their local knowledge and experience. This includes how best to allocate the resources at their disposal to provide an effective service to local communities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of poultry and egg imports from Ukraine on the UK market following the extension of tariff free access in February 2024.

Under our Free Trade Agreement with Ukraine, tariffs on all goods are temporarily removed until March 2029, except for poultry and eggs, where the liberalisation is due to end on 31 March 2026. Ukrainian imports of poultry and eggs currently constitute a small proportion of the UK’s total imports of these products. We consistently consider the views of industry and impact of imports on the UK market from all countries, including from Ukraine. We will continue to take these views into account as part of our policy development process.

What steps he is taking to replace the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.

I introduced the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill on 14 October – a significant step in fulfilling our commitment to repeal and replace the Legacy Act. The Bill received its Second Reading yesterday, and I look forward to continued debate and scrutiny as it progresses through Parliament.