BPF Parliamentary Reception 2025

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) and Plastics Europe (PE) held their joint parliamentary reception on Tuesday 4 March 2025 at the House of Lords, hosted by Lord Harrington of Watford. 16 MPs and peers attended, together with over 90 BPF members.

BPF Director General Philip Law welcomed those in attendance before stressing the size of the UK plastics industry and the vital role it plays in a huge range of sectors, including defence, healthcare, packaging, energy and digital. Referencing turbulence in the current geopolitical affairs, Law stated:

At a time of increasing nationalism and protectionism, it is imperative that there is a realisation at the pinnacle of the UK’s government that the UK plastics industry is absolutely crucial to national security.

Law the outlined the three key policy requests from the plastics industry:

1. Recognition as a ‘Foundation Industry’ — a definition that currently includes metals, ceramics, glass, chemicals, paper and cement, but not plastics.

2. Improving the management of used plastics — a desire to see the development of UK recycling infrastructure through reforms of the PRN scheme and reinvestment of Plastics Packaging Tax funds. Closer alignment with EU regulations governing plastics in contact with food would also help improve matters.

3. Developing medium- to long-term competitiveness — this requires the government to acknowledge the consequences of additional national insurance contributions and the cost implications of its Employment Law package. The Skills England Body also needs urgent deployment to help plug the skills gap, alongside a review of T-Levels and their relevance to manufacturing.

Elaborating on what the industry needs to remain competitive on the global stage, Law highlighted that the EU remains the UK’s largest trading partner and closer regulatory alignment, where it makes sense, should be completed swiftly. The former Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP) for UK exhibitors at foreign trade shows should also be reinstated, he argued, alongside grants to help companies to acquire more energy-efficient machinery.

Law finished his speech by stating:

We urge policymakers and legislators to recognise and support the critical role of plastics. The challenges ahead are complex, but by working together, we can strengthen the UK’s strategic position, support economic growth, and build a more sustainable future based on circularity and carbon efficiency.

Lord Richard Harrington of Watford then took the stage and stated:

The BPF is well respected across government. The association does a difficult job extremely well, highlighting the interests of their members to Ministers and interested parties.

Lord Harrington acknowledged that trade associations, while representing the broad interests of their members, have a fine line to tread in their dealings with government but are a well-established way within the UK of doing so. Citing ongoing uncertainty on the geopolitical stage, coupled with the well-known strain on the country’s finances, he suggested the road ahead would be challenging — but positive progress was clearly possible with constructive dialogue between industry and government.

The document circulated to all in attendance can be downloaded below.

If you want to find out more about the BPFs various position statements, please click here.