Mr. William O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what discussions his Department has had with the food packaging industry as to a possible levy on packaging; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what plans he has to introduce a packaging levy on produce that generates waste; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AtkinsThe Government have no plans to introduce a statutory levy to finance the recovery of value from packaging waste. However, after extensive consultation with the packaging industry and users of packaging, the Government have announced that they are prepared to respond to requests from industry to legislate at the earliest opportunity. They propose to create a statutory framework within which industry-led schemes may operate in order to achieve increased recovery and recycling of packaging waste.