To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 9 October 2008, Official Report, column 746W, on the Waste and Resources Action Programme, (1) what remit was given to Chelgate Ltd; and what each of the resource efficiency issues were that were developed; (231969)

[holding answer 30 October 2008]: The Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP) remit from its Government funders is to help individuals, businesses and organisations to waste less and recycle more and to help support the development of end markets for recycled materials. WRAP describes this role as encouraging ‘resource efficiency’. WRAP'S work delivers environmental, social and economic benefits, and so its advice, experience and agenda is of interest to policy makers in Government and other political parties. WRAP therefore decided to strengthen its links with policy makers within Government, Parliament and other parties.

The remit given to Chelgate Ltd. was to provide specialist help to support WRAP in improving their engagement with political stakeholders. The objective was to help WRAP raise the level of those stakeholders' awareness of WRAP, their activities and the value of those activities to the UK economy and environment. This support was of a general nature, across all the issues dealt with by WRAP.

WRAP'S aim is to help to build a more resource efficient UK. WRAP therefore considers the term ‘resource efficiency’ to include all the issues with which it deals.

The use of Chelgate Ltd. to contact public policy makers and opinion formers from outside WRAP'S established stakeholder groups did include liaising with representatives of political parties, honourable Members and noble Lords.

Chelgate Ltd. was engaged at a cost of £25,000.