DEFRA Provide Update Timeline when Local Authorities will Receive pEPR Payments

DEFRA has updated the timeline for when local authorities will receive assessment notices and grant determination letters.

Between April 2025 and March 2026, local authorities will receive three grant determination letters outlining the payment amounts they will receive under pEPR and the corresponding payment schedule.

In the first year (April 2025-March 2026), local authorities will receive a basic payment based on:

• Publicly available and existing data, including WasteDataFlow information and Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.
• Data on tonnages, operations, and unit costs collected from a representative sample of authorities across the UK.

From the second year (April 2026-March 2027), the basic payment and any necessary adjustments will be based on data submitted by local authorities to PackUK.

Whilst submitting data under pEPR is not mandatory, DEFRA encourages local authorities to do so, as it will help ensure future payments are as accurate as possible.

The basic payment model considers various local authority characteristics, such as rurality, deprivation levels, national policies, and broader circumstances. It also factors in the volume of waste collected and managed by local authorities, along with estimates of its composition.

In June 2025, chief executives will receive a new assessment notice, which may include revisions based on feedback and queries from local authorities.

In October 2025, local authorities are set to receive the first half of EPR payments and then receive the next two quarters of payments in January and March 2026 respectively. Local authorities will then be paid quarterly from April 2026.

For the latest guidance, please click here.