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Madam Speaker: I have not been informed by any Ministers that they are seeking to make a statement today on that issue. I certainly never make any comments on newspaper reports. I think that that is always wise, and a good line for any Speaker, Back Bencher or Minister to follow.
Mr. Owen Paterson (North Shropshire): On a point of order--
Madam Speaker: Order. I have not finished yet. I very seldom get a chance to speak in the House and, when I do, I am certainly not going to be interrupted by a Back Bencher on what may well be a bogus point of order when it comes.
However, the serious point is that Ministers and the House know that I am strongly of the view that policy announcements should be made in the House in the first instance. I very much hope that my comments will be borne in mind when Ministers finally reach a conclusion on this matter.
Now, Mr. Paterson, I will hear your point of order--and it had be better a good one, too.
Mr. Paterson:
May I refer back to Question 6 in Health questions, Madam Speaker? The Secretary of State said that he would eat his hat if I could provide documentary evidence to back up the question that I had put to him. Page 63 of 22nd edition of "Erskine May" clearly states that
Madam Speaker:
I am not sure about any demonstration of hat eating, but the hon. Gentleman will know that I do not have the authority to call the Secretary of State back to the House. The hon. Gentleman asked the Secretary of State a question earlier, and I suggest that he tries to rephrase the matter and bring it to the attention of the House in general by means of questions or an early-day motion.
"it is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity."
I quote from a letter from the Shropshire local medical committee, which represents all the general practitioners in the county. The letter states:
"no bed was available in Shropshire to admit acutely ill patients",
even though
"this was a fairly normal winter, with the sort of seasonable rise in activity that is predictable and which should be coped with as a matter of routine."
1 Feb 2000 : Column 921
Would it be possible to call the Secretary of State back to the House, so that he can accurately answer my question, and possibly eat his hat at the same time?
Retail Packaging Recycling
4.25 pm
Mr. Andrew Stunell (Hazel Grove): I beg to move,
- That leave be given to bring in a Bill to require that certain retailers shall provide free of charge a collection point for any packaging materials sold or supplied by them; and to require them to recycle or safely dispose of such materials.
The Bill has a simple aim, and it seeks to achieve it in a straightforward way. It uses a well-tried and effective mechanism--the market--which I hope will find favour on both sides of the House, to achieve a much desired result. The power to do this will be put in the hands of ordinary consumer--of shoppers. It does not require a regulatory body or special powers to be given to a statutory authority.
The Bill's aim is to reduce the unnecessary over-packaging of products bought by consumers. That excess packaging has a very short life. We take it home, rip it off and stick it in the bin. Much of the packaging defies recycling by conventional methods. There are a lot of mixed materials bonded together, cardboard and plastic bonded together and multiple plastic products that cannot be separated. Quite often, the resulting materials are bulky and uncompressible.
In short, excess packaging presents an environmental nightmare. So why does it happen, why is it getting worse and who wants this packaging mountain? Well, it is not the waste disposal authorities; it is not the bin men who collect it; it is not the customer, whose dustbin is overflowing, and it is not the retailer. The retailer does not telephone the manufacturer and say, "Please send more polystyrene and cellophane with your products." The marketing people are responsible. That is a term of abuse in many areas, and I have to say that this marketing blitz is a catastrophe for the environment.
I have mentioned some of the problems that arise when the packaging is used and goes into the formal waste stream. There is a further problem of when it is used and goes into the informal waste stream--or the ditch and the hedge, as we call it in professional circles. As far as packaging goes, the less of it there is, the better.
How does the Bill help? It will place an obligation on retailers--those trading from larger premises--to take back from their customers any packaging that they have supplied to them. Larger retailers will have to provide a point where packaging can be taken or handed in. The retailer will then recycle it or safely dispose of it, which is often not so easy.
The experience of Switzerland and Germany, where similar legislation is in place, is that retailers soon tell wholesalers to cut down on the junk that is being sent
with the products they are selling. The wholesalers tell the manufacturers, and the manufacturers soon get the message. Products in those countries tend to have less junk packaging than in the United Kingdom, and there is no reason why this Bill should not produce the same result.
The Bill will not cost anybody anything; it produces savings at every step. There is less cost for the manufacturer in providing the packaging and less cost for the wholesaler in transporting it; less hassle for retailers, less rubbish in the dustbins of hon. Members and of other consumers and, of course, less waste in landfill sites throughout the country.
It is my privilege to introduce a Bill that is benign in all respects--free of cost and supported on both sides of the House. I commend the Bill to the House.
Question put and agreed to.
Bill ordered to be brought in by Mr. Andrew Stunell, Mr. David Chaytor, Dr. Vincent Cable, Mr. Nicholas Winterton, Mrs. Linda Gilroy, Mr. Norman Baker and Mr. Alan Simpson.
Mr. Andrew Stunell accordingly presented a Bill to require that certain retailers shall provide free of charge a collection point for any packaging materials sold or supplied by them; and to require them to recycle or safely dispose of such materials: And the same was read the First time; and ordered to be read a Second time on Friday 10 March, and to be printed [Bill 56].
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