HC Deb 10 April 2000 vol 348 cc1-2W
Mrs. Brinton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the timetable for the forthcoming review of the statutory registration fee structure for packaging waste compliance schemes. [117949]

Mr. Meacher

Work on the consultation is close to completion and we anticipate issuing it within the next few weeks.

Mrs. Brinton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research has been undertaken on the advantages and disadvantages of volume discounting of statutory fees, following the discount in statutory registration fees received by the largest packaging waste compliance scheme. [117950]

Mr. Meacher

The mechanism for calculating registration fees paid by compliance schemes to the Agencies—the scheme fee mechanism—under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations was developed to reflect the costs to the Agencies of the functions which they carry out and was introduced following consultation in 1996. Concerns have been expressed to the Department that the assumptions underlying the scheme fee mechanism are not correct. The Department is therefore proposing to issue a consultation paper in which the advantages and disadvantages of different options will be discussed.

Mrs. Brinton

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what recent representations his Department has received on the statutory registration fee structure for packaging waste compliance schemes. [117948]

Mr. Meacher

Following representations from some compliance schemes, the Environment Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, my Department is preparing a consultation paper on the mechanism used to calculate the registration fees paid by compliance schemes under the Producer Responsibility Obligation (Packaging Waste) Regulations. The paper is being prepared in consultation with the Agencies and is due to be issued in the next few weeks. The Government are required by law to consult before making any changes to the regime. We will provide all interested parties with an opportunity to comment further on the issues involved.