I refer the hon. Member to the response given to him on 29 June 2026 to PQ UIN 12919.

Defra officials and the Environment Agency (EA) are engaging with Norfolk County Council regarding the challenges it is facing dealing with backlogs of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) at Norfolk's recycling centres to help Norfolk councils to resume WEEE and batteries recycling services.

The EA's focus has been on Norfolk's Household Waste Recycling Centre contractors to help resolve issues on their sites.

Defra officials and the Environment Agency (EA) are engaging with Norfolk County Council regarding the challenges it is facing resuming WEEE and batteries recycling services.

Local EA teams are providing advice, including advising on Regulatory Position Statements to help restore full services as quickly and safely as possible, whilst maintaining environmental compliance. Interim measures have already enabled the continued collection of large domestic appliances.

Defra does not have an assessment of the volume of electronic waste generated as a result of the withdrawal of support.

Defra takes electronic waste seriously. Electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) is regulated to incentivise reduction in the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).

The regulations require producers to report products they place on the market in the 15 EEE categories. Producers must then finance collections and treatment of a proportionate amount of household WEEE each year.

Reports on EEE and WEEE are available on GOV.UK here. The data does not specify the reason for the waste arising.

Defra is working with the Devolved Governments to review the UK’s producer responsibility legislation for batteries. As part of this review, a series of workshops were held with industry earlier this year to explore the potential impacts of regulatory consistency with the requirements of the EU Batteries Regulation in Great Britain, including in relation to user-replaceable battery standards. We intend to consult on proposals in the autumn.

The Level 3 Digital Device Repair Technician apprenticeship standard is available to support the electronic device repair industry, and other occupational standards are available to facilitate engineering and manufacturing skills more widely.

To improve the availability of apprenticeships, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training costs for eligible people aged under 25 at non-levy paying employers. The department currently pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21 at non-levy paying employers and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.

From October 2026, non-levy paying employers will also receive a £2,000 incentive payment when they take on, as new employees, apprentices under the aged of 25, to help them meet the additional costs of supporting a young person at the beginning of their career.

This is in addition to the £1,000 that the Government already pays to both employers (of all sizes) and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for foundation apprenticeships and employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).

The WEEE Compliance Fee, paid under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013 by electrical producers is used to provide project funding for consumer awareness campaigns in the UK, which are managed by Material Focus and highlight the importance of proper disposal and recycling of electrical waste.

Defra recognises the importance of continued innovation in public awareness campaigns for the collection and treatment of waste electricals and electronics. The Circular Economy Growth Plan will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what interventions may be needed. The Circular Economy Growth Plan is due to be published soon.

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013 are founded on the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility, which requires the producers of electrical and electronic equipment to take responsibility for the environmental impact of the products they place on the market when they become waste. Under the WEEE Regulations, the cost of the collection, transport and subsequent environmentally sound treatment and recycling of household waste is financed by producers through membership of a Producer Compliance Scheme.

Electrical and electronic equipment is part of our Circular Economy Growth Plan which considers the evidence for action right across the economy and what interventions may be needed. We intend to publish the Circular Economy Growth Plan soon.

Defra is actively exploring how we can support circularity in electrical and electronic equipment; a successful transition to a Circular Economy aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. As part of this, we recognise the importance of continued innovation in methods to reduce levels of waste electricals and electronics.

Defra has not conducted a formal assessment of the potential impact of scale of electronic waste on the environment.

We recognise that this is an important issue which is why electrical and electronic waste is being considered under the Circular Economy Growth Plan which we intend to publish soon.

The Department offers a range of support offers for SMEs across the UK, including those in the electronic device repair sector as featured in the new Business Growth Service website.

These measures are set out in the Small Business Plan released in July 2025; this includes the most significant legislative reforms in 25 years to tackle late payments; unlocking billions of pounds in financial support; removing unnecessary red tape; revitalising High Streets and boosting Digital and AI Adoption among small businesses.

In Ashfield, and across Nottinghamshire, businesses can access free, impartial business advice through the government-backed Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire Growth Hub.

The Government is ensuring the UK remains a top destination for foreign investment through policy stability, improving planning and championing competitive sectors. We are creating investable opportunities that drive productivity, highquality jobs and sustainable growth. The 2025 Trade Strategy builds on improvements to the Office for Investment to ensure our trade and international agreements strengthen FDI.

The Industrial Strategy supports electronic firms through commitments to supply chains for advanced manufacturing including power electronics, clean energy technologies and digital. Priorities include automotive, batteries, aerospace, space and advanced materials, while semiconductors are identified as a key technology with its own semiconductor programme.

Defra does not collect data relating to the volume of waste generated by devices made redundant due to software upgrades and only holds data relating to the Government’s own Information and Communication Technology devices.

This Government is committed to transitioning towards a Circular Economy. The Government convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to help map that transition, and will publish a Circular Economy Growth Plan that sets out how government will deliver a more circular and more prosperous economy. In the development of the Growth Plan, Defra are considering the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluating what interventions may be needed, including any interventions in the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) sector.

The WEEE Regulations 2013 are founded on the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility and stipulate that all producers of electrical goods, including producers of smart technology, must take responsibility for the products they place on the market when they become waste.

In January this year, Material Focus published research reviewing the effectiveness of public collections of small mixed WEEE and portable batteries in the UK, including kerbside collections. Material Focus is funded by the compliance fee that operates under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013, which is paid by electrical producers if they don’t meet the annual recycling targets set by the Government. Figure 4 of Appendix A in the review (copy attached) includes a map of the 95 local authorities that provided small electrical kerbside collections in 2023. The findings indicated that although kerbside collections impacted the amount of recycling collected, the picture is complex and the 'best collection method' for each local authority may be influenced by various other important factors.

Defra recognises the importance of continued innovation in collection and treatment of waste electricals and electronics. As we develop the Circular Economy Growth Plan, we will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what interventions may be needed. The Circular Economy Growth Plan is due to be published in early 2026.