Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (Waste Management Licensing) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, has given us the opportunity to debate these regulations, for which I thank him. They will have a fundamental impact on the collection, treatment, recovery and disposal of electronic and electrical equipment through a set of complex new arrangements. As my noble friend Lord Dixon-Smith has highlighted, it is estimated that the United Kingdom will produce 1.1 million tonnes of household electrical equipment waste in this year alone. Can the Minister enlighten the House on whether the Government have made any assessment of how the digital switchover may add to this figure? Environmentally, we on these Benches emphatically believe that, while these regulations are necessary for the basic recycling infrastructure, we must encourage greater social responsibility and develop a strong recycling culture in this country. There is a need for a holistic, cross-departmental approach, which we shall wish to adopt when we form the next Government. It is my job to look at the regulations from the DTI perspective. To help the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, Alan Duncan is the shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in another place. Businesses have informed us that they are disappointed with the information provided by the DTI about how electronic waste will be collected from consumers. I ask the Minister to ensure that both consumers and businesses are aware of the regulations and how they will affect them. Your Lordships are well aware that the Government have held six consultations and a review, and that this has caused three years of delays in the implementation of the WEEE directive. We on these Benches recognise the scale of the challenge of implementing the directive, and the subsequent need for detailed consultation. I urge the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, not to push his prayer to a Division and introduce further delays and uncertainty for business. The guidance accompanying these regulations is of critical importance to producers. It will determine much of the detail of the implementation of the regulations. The UK trade association for information technology—Intellect—has raised concerns that the publication of the guidance has yet again been delayed and it still has not seen a copy. Can the Minister guarantee that the guidance has been published or give a date when it will be published? Will the guidance contain rules to prevent recycling firms over-collecting and over-processing waste electrical and electronic equipment? The regulations and guidance will inevitably have a disproportionate effect on smaller electronic producers and retailers. Will the Minister summarise the assessment made of the potential barrier that these provisions may create for new electronic producers and retailers? It is essential that these regulations do not threaten Britain’s international competitiveness in the electronics industry. Have the Government examined how other European countries have implemented this directive? Have other countries put in place similar schemes or are they, as so often, using paper-based compliance? We welcome the Government’s decision finally to implement the directive but, as always, the devil will be in the detail. The DTI considers that the capacity is in place for the new arrangements, yet James Murray recently reported in IT Weekly that, despite all the consultation, the delays are only the start of the problems for IT businesses. His conclusion was that a well intentioned idea has been undermined by a weak Government, with good intentions but woeful execution. That may be so, but we are where we are, so let us move ahead without further delay in our attempt to save our environment and encourage our responsible British industry.