Written questions by Smith.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether DEFRA has established whether Equal Experts, in conducting the BNG Metric Tool Discovery phase under contract C24064, accessed software products developed by private sector BNG technology companies without those companies' knowledge or consent; and whether her Department has asked this question of Equal Experts in writing.

The statutory Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) metric is a Government‑owned tool and is currently only available to users in spreadsheet format. The existing tool has well‑recognised issues relating to accessibility, usability, and data integrity, which the Government's digitisation project will address. Contract C24064 is for Application Development Services and provides digital specialist support and programme delivery capability. The Discovery phase of the BNG metric digitisation project explored a wide range of user needs and potential options and does not represent a delivery commitment. Discovery reports are not routinely published but can be made available on request. Defra first became aware of written representations from private sector companies alleging procedural irregularities in the BNG metric digitisation procurement on 4 March 2026. Checks were undertaken to make sure the work is following due process. User research activities conducted during the Discovery phase were reviewed and found to be compliant with Government standards for research, and therefore further advice has not been sought. We are keen to work with private sector BNG technology providers to ensure digitisation of the BNG metric is a success.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ministerial colleagues in MHCLG responsible for fire services regarding what further steps can be taken to prevent farm fires.

Defra Ministers and officials have regular discussions with their counterparts in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on a range of issues.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to encourage farmers to develop detailed fire plans, as recommended by the NFU Mutual's Farm Fires Report 2025.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) are the lead Department for wildfire. Defra work closely with MHCLG and support Natural England (NE) in delivering their responsibilities. This includes the recently published EIP commitment that by 2030 NE will conduct research on increasing the natural resilience of habitats to wildfires. This will develop our understanding of actions that can be taken to naturally reduce the risk of wildfires.

Food and Rural Affairs, what methodology was used to calculate the 4% impairment fee applied under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.

The impairment provision is based on the bad debt experience of Defra with charging schemes that are most similar to pEPR, whilst taking into consideration the large values of some of our Notice of Liabilities.

Food and Rural Affairs, what determination was made to assess the proportionality and fairness of the 4% impairment fee applied under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.

The impairment provision is based on the bad debt experience of Defra with charging schemes that are most similar to pEPR, whilst taking into consideration the large values of some of our Notice of Liabilities.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the risk of applying a 4% impairment fee on EPR on future impairment rates as a result of additional pressure on business finances.

Incorporating impairment provisions for bad debt in a cost recovery scheme is an expected consideration of Government, as detailed in Managing Public Money guidelines, and is common practice when setting fees. Whilst Notice of Liabilities issued under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme are due for payment after 50 calendar days, liable producers have the facility to pay in quarterly instalments. These impairment provisions can only be used for specific purposes and will be subject to regular scrutiny and review. To minimise impairment and provide transparency, PackUK intends to collect debt rigorously but fairly and will review the impairment provision at least quarterly. Where the impairment provision isn’t fully utilised liable producers will be given a refund.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of hares shot during the period when sale is prohibited under the Hares Preservation Act 1892 in the latest period for which data is available.

Defra holds no official statistics on the number of hares shot in England. The Act aims to protect hares by prohibiting the sale of hares in England from March to July inclusive.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the ecological vulnerability of chalk stream habitats; and whether his Department plans to develop a national strategy for their (a) protection and (b) restoration.

Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works. Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector. Alongside this, we are continuing to direct investment to projects that will improve chalk streams. Through the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), over 1000 improvement projects are planned within chalk stream catchments between 2024-2029.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) pubs and (b) other businesses are not charged twice for glass recycling under the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to ensure that local authorities use funds from the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme solely for waste management and environmental purposes.

pEPR regulations include a range of measures to drive improved performance and ensure local authorities make the investments needed to support an efficient and effective waste management service for household packaging. These include:Introducing an Improvement Action Process (IAP), through which the poorest performing local authorities are identified and supported to deliver better recycling outcomes.Using financial disincentives to respond to continued poor performanceRequiring local authorities in England to collect all six recyclable waste streams (excluding plastic film), from all households by 31 March 2026 via the Simpler Recycling regulations.In addition, for year 1 of pEPR, the Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government has already guaranteed at least £1.1 billion in funding for local authorities in England through pEPR. This provides local authorities with the financial certainty necessary to plan and invest in service improvements accordingly. We will keep the effectiveness of these measures under review.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme on (a) local economic growth and (b) the financial resilience of local authorities.

Extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR) and the packaging reforms more broadly, will deliver both positive environmental and economic benefits, supporting 21,000 jobs in our nations and regions, and stimulating more than 10 billion pounds investment in recycling capability over the next decade. The impact of pEPR on local economic growth has not been assessed. Local government in England is expected to receive over £1 billion of new funding in 2025-26 through the implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging scheme. The government will guarantee that if local authorities in England do not receive Extended Producer Responsibility income in line with their November 2024 payment estimates in the first year of the scheme (2025-26), they will provide an in-year top up.This funding will cover the existing costs local authorities incur for managing household packaging waste, provide additional funding for new legal duties, and support much needed investment in the waste and recycling industry.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether pubs that have already paid for glass recycling will be reimbursed for Extended Producer Responsibility charges.

Since Autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality sector, to consider potential amendments to the definition of household packaging. Despite considering multiple approaches, a consensus on a single approach that works for all sectors and within the bounds of legal and regulatory requirements, was not reached. We are continuing to engage with sectors on a way forward and on assessing the tonnages of packaging any amendment might affect in the hospitality sector and in other sectors. We are planning next steps as a priority.

Food and Rural Affairs, how his Department will monitor compliance with extended producer responsibility requirements; and what penalties will apply for non-compliance.

Defra officials are working closely with the Environment Agency (EA) and Devolved Governments to ensure robust plans are in place to both scrutinise the accuracy of submissions from enrolled producers, and identify and bring into compliance free riders who have not yet enrolled or reported their data. This is being supported by more than doubling the number of compliance officers. We are also encouraging compliant producers to report producers they suspect of being non-compliant to the appropriate regulator. The new pEPR regulations also significantly enhanced the potential penalties for non-compliance. This will give the EA the ability to secure compliance and to take swift and proportionate enforcement action with powers, including warnings, cautions, civil sanctions, and prosecution. In addition to regulator enforcement, PackUK, the new Scheme Administrator, also has the power to invoice producers for fees in the years in which they were non-compliant.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to delay the implementation of extended producer responsibility.

No. The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024 came into effect on 1 January 2025, PackUK, the Scheme Administrator has been appointed, and producers will start to accrue scheme costs from 1 April 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department considered alternatives to extended producer responsibility.

The Government consulted on the principles, objectives, and proposals for extended producer responsibility in 2019 and 2021, and these received high levels of support. This followed initial lobbying in 2018 from the sector, which preferred extended producer responsibility, in which funds are invested back into the sector, to other fiscal measures such as a non-hypothecated tax.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of how local authorities use extended producer responsibility revenue.

From 2028, the pEPR scheme administrator, PackUK, must assess whether each local authority is running an effective waste management service for household packaging waste. If PackUK determines that a local authority is not providing an effective waste management service, they are able to give notice to the local authority, work with them to determine how the services could be improved, and where necessary reduce the payments available to them in the following year by up to 20%. In relation to cost efficiency, local authorities will receive payments representing their estimated efficient costs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the extended producer responsibility scheme does not reduce investment in UK manufacturing.

The scheme treats domestic manufacturing and import equally, with all packaging and packaged products, whether manufactured and supplied domestically or imported into UK, subject to the obligations in the Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations. Similarly, any packaging or packaged goods manufactured in the UK and exported will not be in scope of the UK Regulations but may be in scope of the Extended Producer Responsibility regime in the country the packaging or packaged goods are being exported to.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps to commission an independent review of extended producer responsibility fees to consider whether the fees are (a) fair to and (b) sustainable for relevant businesses.

The Scheme Administrator, PackUK, is required to set base fees in line with the regulations, which were developed by the previous Government following extensive engagement and consultation with stakeholders. Since the publication of the first illustrative base fees my department has continued to engage extensively with stakeholders, including through material specific workshops and the Scheme Administrator Steering Group (SASG) comprised of stakeholders across the sector. Most recently my department published a third set of illustrative base fees in December 24, which provided point estimates in direct response to industry feedback

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the extended producer responsibility scheme does not disproportionately impact (a) consumer choice and (b) product availability.

Through making producers responsible for the costs of managing the packaging they use; packaging extended producer responsibility will incentivise producers to use less packaging and transition to re-usable or easy-to-recycle packaging. Defra have not identified any evidence that pEPR will lead to reduced consumer choice or product availability, including through assessment of international schemes.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to mitigate the potential impact of extended producer responsibility on food and drink prices.

The aim of pEPR is to ensure businesses - rather than taxpayers - are responsible for the cost of dealing with packaging when it becomes waste. These regulations will encourage manufacturers to reduce the amount of packaging they use and increase recyclable and reusable alternatives. It is up to individual producers to decide how much of these costs are passed on to consumers. While pricing decisions by producers will differ by product, the impact of pEPR on overall inflation is estimated to be small, increasing consumer costs by less than £1 a week per household, or 0.1%.