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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department has taken to support small businesses to reduce the use of single-use plastics.

We are taking steps to help small businesses reduce their use of single-use plastic items.

The 5p single-use carrier bag charge was introduced in England in October 2015 and has had a dramatic impact. The number of single-use plastic carrier bags sold by the main retailers has fallen from 7.6 billion in 2014, to 197 million in 2021/2022, a reduction of over 97%. To build on the success of the charge so far and to create a level playing field for all large and small businesses alike, we increased the charge from 5p to 10p and extended it to all retailers from 21 May 2021.

We recently announced measures to ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, cutlery, and balloon sticks, and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and beverage containers, including cups from October 2023. This ban will apply to all businesses including small businesses.