Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the plastic bag levy at lowering use; and whether she plans to introduce further measures to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.

The Government’s assessment is that the single-use carrier bag charge has been highly effective in reducing the use of single-use plastic bags in England. Since the charge was introduced in 2015, sales of single-use plastic carrier bags sold by the main supermarket retailers have fallen by almost 98%, a reduction from 7.6 billion bags in 2014 to 164 million in 2024/25.

The charge has also helped reduce the littering of plastic bags. Reports from the Marine Conservation Society indicate a fall from an average of 13 bags found on beaches in 2013 to just 3 in 2021.

In May 2021, the Government increased the minimum charge from 5p to 10p and extended it to all retailers to reinforce this progress and create a level playing field across the sector.

The Government remains committed to moving to a circular economy for plastics and will continue to take a systematic, evidence-based approach to reducing unnecessary single-use plastics and encouraging reuse solutions. We will continue to review the latest evidence on single-use plastic carrier bags.