1.These draft Regulations propose new requirements on the producers of packaging in England to collect and report data on the amount and type of packaging that they place on the market. The proposed requirements are more comprehensive than what is required under the current system. While this is a UK-wide policy, the provisions in this instrument apply to England only. The Devolved Administrations will introduce similar requirements in relation to Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
2.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) says that the data is needed to calculate the fees that producers will have to pay to cover the cost of managing their packaging under the new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging scheme which will be introduced in 2024. Under the new scheme, producers will pay for the collection and disposal costs of their packaging when it becomes waste, creating a financial incentive to reduce the amount of packaging and to improve its recyclability. The EPR for packaging scheme will be established by separate Regulations which Defra plans to lay in Autumn 2023.
3.The requirements proposed by this instrument are to apply to producers with an annual turnover of £2 million or more which handle more than 50 tonnes of packaging each year. Smaller producers with an annual turnover between £1 million and £2 million which place between 25 and 50 tonnes of packaging on the market will only have to collect but not report data until the new scheme starts in 2024. According to Defra, 39% of all packaging is supplied by the 43 largest firms in the sector, and the Department estimates that smaller producers which are not covered by the reporting obligation account for around 15% of total packaging in the UK. From 2024, however, businesses selling unfilled packaging to these smaller producers will have to make EPR payments for this packaging.
4.Following a cost estimate report published by the Sponsor Body in February 2022, the Commissions of the Houses of Parliament agreed a “new approach” to the parliamentary building works, which was endorsed by resolutions in both Houses in July 2022. These affirmative Regulations would give legal effect to the decision by abolishing the Sponsor Body and transferring its staff and functions (as well as its property, rights and liabilities) to the Corporate Officers of each House, that is the Clerk of the Parliaments for the House of Lords and the Clerk of the House of Commons, from 1 January 2023.
5.The parliamentary building works will still be carried out by the Delivery Authority, which has already been established. This will now be overseen by a new joint department of the two Houses. These Regulations do not change the mechanism for Parliamentary approval of parliamentary building works under section 7 of the Parliamentary Buildings (Restoration and Renewal) Act 2019 which states that no restoration works, other than preparatory works, can be carried out until Parliament has approved the Delivery Authority proposals for those works and their funding.
6.In June 2022, Parliament passed the Social Security (Additional Payments) Act 2022, which provides for additional cost of living payments of £650 for those receiving means-tested benefits and tax credits. These Regulations provide a mechanism for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to recover such payments to tax credit recipients, if made as a result of official error or fraud on the part of the payee.
7.Seeking recovery of overpaid welfare payments is an established policy aimed at protecting public money. Where this results from fraud we wholeheartedly endorse HMRC’s efforts. However, where these additional payments are made as a result of an official error, we are concerned that decisions over recovery should be handled sensitively. Recipients may be unaware of the mistake and they may also be vulnerable, be experiencing financial hardship and could have difficulty paying back the money (which they may already have spent).
8.We asked HMRC about their intended approach to such cases. HMRC assured us that it will exercise discretion in seeking to recover monies, including if a recipient is experiencing financial hardship. HMRC also said that it has well-established processes to enable repayments to be tailored to a customer’s circumstances, for example allowing repayment by instalments over a time period they can manage. HMRC will not reduce the person’s underlying tax credit award. We encourage HMRC to consider carefully whether and how they recover payments made as a result of official error.
9.Following an assessment by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), this instrument specifies that the Republic of Korea (South Korea) ensures an adequate level of protection for transfers of personal data to anyone in South Korea who is subject to South Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act (“the PIPA”). This has the effect of allowing transfers of personal data from the UK without a controller or processor having to use appropriate safeguards or a derogation under the UK General Data Protection Regulation. According to DCMS, this will make it easier for UK businesses to connect with South Korean markets and attract investment. The Department estimates the annual benefit to UK businesses and charities to be £14.8 million, with 93% of these businesses qualifying as small or micro businesses.
10.Asked whether South Korea will reciprocate and grant adequacy to the UK, DCMS explained that, at the moment, the PIPA “does not allow for similar style adequacy regulations to be made. For this reason, a reciprocal decision by Korea in relation to the UK cannot be granted. An amendment to the PIPA is currently being considered by the Korean National Assembly, that empowers the Personal Information Protection Commission to make an adequacy decision to other countries or international organisations.”
11.DCMS says that following Brexit, the UK currently has adequacy provisions in place for the EU and the European Economic Area,1 Switzerland and Gibraltar as well as for several “Adequate Third Countries”.2 In addition to South Korea, the Government have identified five other priorities for new adequacy assessments: Australia, Colombia, the Dubai International Financial Centre, Singapore and the United States Data Privacy Framework.
1 The European Economic Area includes Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
2 “Adequate Third Countries” is a term used to describe countries and territories which benefited from existing EU adequacy decisions at the end of the Transition Period. This includes Andorra, the Isle of Man, Argentina, Japan, Switzerland, Canada (partial), Jersey, Uruguay, Guernsey, the Faroe Islands, Israel and New Zealand.