Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is he taking to ensure transparency in how supermarkets report how revenues raised through the plastic bag charge are spent.
The carrier bag charge has been very successful in reducing the number of single-use carrier bags used - which have fallen by 95% for major retailers. Retailers with over 250 staff must keep three years of records, including how many single-use bags have been sold, and how the proceeds have been used. Whilst there is no legal obligation on retailers to donate the charge, Defra encourages doing so and publishes a summary including the amounts of money given to good causes: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england Retailers have donated nearly £190 million to good causes from the charge since its introduction.