The Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2023

PART 4 The Departments’ powers and duties

Publication of items recycled by relevant authorities

22.  The Department must publish—

(a) a list of items which are collected for recycling from households by each relevant authority in Northern Ireland responsible for waste collection; and

(b) a list of those items which are collected for recycling from households by more than 75% of the relevant authorities in Northern Ireland responsible for waste collection.

Monitoring

23.—(1) The Department must monitor in accordance with this regulation—

(a) compliance with their data collection obligations and reporting obligations by persons who are or may be producers; and

(b) compliance by operators of schemes with the obligations referred to in regulation 20(1) and (2).

(2) The duty in paragraph (1) includes a duty to monitor the accuracy of—

(a) The records kept by producers pursuant to regulation 16, and

(b) The information provided by producers in reports to the Department pursuant to regulation 17.

(3) For the purposes of the discharge of its functions under these Regulations, the Department may, serve a notice in writing (“an information notice”) on—

(a) any person who has, or who the Department has reason to believe has, data collection obligations or reporting obligations,

(b) in relation to any person who is a member of a registered scheme, the operator of that scheme.

(4) An information notice may require that person to maintain records, and supply to the Department any data specified in the notice which the Department reasonably considers it needs for those purposes, in such form and within such period following service of the notice, or at such time, as is specified in the notice.

(5) Where the Department considers that any information supplied to it by any person further to a notice issued under paragraph (3), or otherwise under these Regulations, is inaccurate in any respect, the Department may require that person to supply corrected information.

Approved persons

24.—(1) The Department may approve a person listed in paragraph (2) for the purposes of—

(a) Verifying information reported by a producer to the Department under regulation 17(4)(b); or

(b) Verifying information provided by a producer to the operator of a scheme under regulation 19(2)(b)(ii).

(2) The persons listed are, where the producer—

(a) is an individual, that individual;

(b) is a partnership, a partner;

(c) is a company registered in the United Kingdom, a director or company secretary of that company;

(d) is an unincorporated body, an individual who has control or management of that body; or

(e) is a company which does not have a registered office in the United Kingdom, an individual who has control or management of the producer.

(3) Subject to regulation 25, the Department may approve the delegation by an approved person of the person’s functions to any other person.

(4) An approved person who has delegated functions under paragraph (3) may continue to perform those functions.

(5) For the purposes of these Regulations, an act of a delegate performing the functions of an approved person on that person’s behalf is to be treated as an act of the approved person.

(6) In this regulation, and in regulation 25, “functions” means the functions referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and (b).

Delegation of approved persons’ functions: procedure

25.—(1) An approved person who proposes the delegation of their functions to another person under regulation 24(3) must apply for approval to the Department on a form supplied for that purpose by that Department, signed by the approved person.

(2) An application for approval under paragraph (1) must, within 28 days of receipt of the application—

(a) be granted where the Department is satisfied that the proposed delegate, taking into account the factors specified in paragraph (3), is capable of carrying out the functions on behalf of the approved person; or

(b) otherwise be refused.

(3) The factors mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) are—

(a) if the proposed delegate is an employee of the producer or the operator of the scheme, the proposed delegate’s level of seniority;

(b) if the proposed delegate is not an employee of the producer or the operator of the scheme, the nature of the proposed delegate’s relationship with the approved person;

(c) the degree of the proposed delegate’s knowledge of, or access to, information necessary for the purposes of carrying out the functions on behalf of the approved person; and

(d) any other factor which the Department reasonably thinks is relevant.

(4) An approval granted in accordance with paragraph (2)(a) may be for such period, or subject to such other conditions, as the Department may specify.

(5) Where an application for approval is granted in accordance with paragraph 2(a), the Department must notify the approved person in writing of this, and of any conditions it has imposed pursuant to paragraph (4), within 28 days of its decision.

(6) The Department may decide to withdraw approval granted under paragraph (2)(a) and, if such a decision is taken, must serve on the approved person written notice of—

(a) the decision to withdraw approval;

(b) the reasons for the decision;

(c) the date on which the withdrawal takes effect, not being earlier than 28 days from the date of the notice.

(7) If an approved person proposes to revoke a delegation granted under paragraph (2)(a), the person must serve written notice on the Department of this and of the date when the revocation takes effect, not being earlier than 28 days from the date of the notice.

Information sharing

26.—(1) The Department may share any information it receives under these Regulations with the following entities to enable them to carry out their functions—

(a) another UK regulator,

(b) any person or entity authorised by the Department to receive that information.