At the recent UK Parliamentary Reception for the Packaging Manufacturing Industry, it was announced that an EDM (Early Day Motion) had been laid down in the House of Commons by Eric Illsley, MP for Barnsley Central, entitled “Support for UK Packaging Industry”. This EDM 405 calls for recognition of packaging’s valuable contribution to the food supply chain and its achievements in the environmental areas on the use of resources and recycling.
An EDM is essentially a notice by back-benchers to the Government of issues which are of concern to them. If the signatories to an EDM reach a sufficiently high number (100-200) then it may trigger an automatic debate in the House of Commons.
Ian Dent, out-going chief executive of The Packaging Federation comments: “I am delighted that I am leaving with this parting shot for the sector, as it is the first time to my knowledge that an EDM has been laid down in favour of, rather than against, packaging. It was encouraging to hear one MP at the reception state that they felt that politicians were now starting to make more reasoned and balanced debates over the use of packaging.”
He continued: “It is vitally important that we do not lose this momentum and call for all manufacturers and users of packaging to get behind this EDM and encourage all of their constituency MPs to sign it and secure an Adjournment Debate on the same theme.”
The reception heard a keynote speech from Margaret Hodge MP, Minister for Industry and the Regions, who praised the efforts of the packaging manufacturing sector in their productivity gains and recycling achievements, as well as recognizing the value of packaging to most supply chains.
In reply, Ian Dent made reference to the MP Briefing paper for the event, which called for greater support from both the DTI and the Regional Development Agencies, and the need for better cohesion between the Local Authority and Producer Responsibility recycling targets.
| Contact |
| Packaging Federation |
