Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has considered consolidating packaging obligations into a single producer responsibility system.
Answer
Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, recycling obligations through PRNs and PERNs, and the Plastic Packaging Tax have distinct purposes. The Government recognises the importance of considering how these measures interact and minimising avoidable complexity. Defra continues to work with HM Treasury, HMRC, and businesses on the packaging framework.33% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (28/100)
The question asked whether the Department had considered bringing packaging obligations under a single system. The reply does not say whether that option was considered. It implies the measures serve different purposes and describes ongoing cross-government work, but it never states a position on consolidation. A member of the public would likely need to ask again for a direct answer.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the Department has considered consolidating packaging obligations into a single producer responsibility system. | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The question asks whether the Department has considered consolidating packaging obligations into one system, and the reply never says whether that option was considered. Statement 1 implicitly argues against consolidation by saying the measures have distinct purposes, and statement 2 gestures at considering how the measures interact, but neither states a position on a single system. Statement 3 only describes ongoing cross-government work, so the reply touches the item without directly answering it. |