BPF Requests Meetings With Key Ministers

After recent letters from Government Ministers to the British Plastics Federation's Director-General Peter Davis, the BPF's Recession Action Group has decided to request meetings with Ian Pearson MP Economic and Business Minister in BERR the Dept. for Business and Enterprise; and with Mike O'Brien MP the Minister for State at DECC, the Dept. for Energy and Climate Change.

The Recession - its impact and the BPF's proposals

Ian Pearson MP the BERR Minister wrote to the BPF on 2nd March " The Government recognises the importance of the plastics industry to the UK economy... it is clearly important to hear direct from business about their concerns. As such the BPF's views are valuable and will be taken into account as Government develops its strategic response to the economic challenges."

Peter Davis has written today to Mr Pearson requesting a meeting to focus particularly on the badly affected suppliers of plastic products to the Housing and Automotive sectors, also the severe difficulties being faced by plastic recyclers.

When the meeting is fixed the BPF would be led by the President Calum Forsyth of Wavin UK Ltd., and joined by Past President Brian Mann of McKechnie Plastic Components, and Mark Burstall,Chairman of the BPF Recycling Council. The BPF team will focus on the difficulties being faced in these three sectors which will include serious problems in securing Credit Insurance. We will also suggest solutions.

Energy Supply and a Plastics Climate Change Agreement

In his letter to Peter Davis in late February the Secretary of State for DECC Ed Miliband MP invited the BPF to meet with his Minister of State Mike O'Brien MP to discuss the above in more detail.      

Peter Davis has written to Mike O'Brien to request a meeting to discuss growing concerns about the energy gap between supply and demand due to: old nuclear and coal power stations being taken out of service; lack of gas storage; uncertain LNG supplies. The BPF team will stress that it is essential to take early action to keep and attract manufacturing investment in the UK. But they will welcome Ed Miliband's firm endorsement for Energy from Waste, providing much needed local heat and power from unrecyclables including plastics, diverted from landfill. They will offer support for Mr Miliband's desire to win"hearts and minds" for Energy from Waste.

The BPF will also wish to discuss what happens now after the proposal for a Plastics industry Climate Change Agreement did not get EC State Aids approval due to a change in their environmental criteria. This has consequences for all CCAs as they come up for renewal.

Leading the BPF team will be the President Calum Forsyth and Past President Brian Mann.

ENDS

For further information on this press release, please contact Anthony Roberts, British Plastics Federation, 6 Bath Place, Rivington Street, London, EC2A 3JE, tel 020 7457 5043, fax 020 7457 5045, email: [email protected]

Notes for editors:

1)     British Plastics Federation (BPF) is the UK trade association for the plastics industry – representing the whole supply chain including polymer producers, distributors, additives suppliers, machinery manufacturers, processors and recyclers.