Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will make it his policy to establish a dedicated ringfenced fund for research into the links between plastic pollution and trends in human health.

The Government is investing in R&D to address a range of emerging public health challenges, including the impact of nano- and microplastics. Through UKRI’s Medical Research Council, the MRC Toxicology Unit at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Centre for Environment and Health at Imperial College have a broad programme of activity to study exposure to these materials and their impact on human health.

The Government does not generally ringfence funding for particular areas of research. In line with the Haldane principle, UKRI and other Government funders award grants to the best proposals that are submitted through a process of expert peer review.