§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the(a) effectiveness and (b) operational costs of the administration of the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997. [38543]
§ Angela EagleThe Environment Agency in England and Wales and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in Scotland have a duty to monitor business compliance with the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 ("the Regulations") and ensure that businesses have satisfactorily discharged their recovery and recycling obligations. The monitoring of the Regulations will be an ongoing process.
A Compliance Cost Assessment (CCA) on the effects of the Regulations on business was included in the Consultation paper on the draft Regulations which was issued by the former Department of the Environment, in July 1996. A review of the Regulations is now underway and is to be finalised around the end of May when the Advisory Committee on Packaging will submit their recommendation to my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment. A regulatory appraisal (formerly CCA) will accompany any proposals for amendment.