Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much of the Plastics and Waste Investment Fund has been allocated to date; and which programmes have received money from that fund.

This Government is building a globally competitive sustainable plastics industry through research and innovation. We have already allocated 95% of the funding available through the £20m Plastics Research and Innovation Fund. This includes £8m on academic research, £6m on collaborative R&D, £3m on an Investor Partnership with Sky Ocean Ventures and almost £2m on a Circular Plastics flagship programme with WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Plan). WRAP is also administering a number of grant opportunities on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

As confirmed in July, BEIS will also provide up to £60 million, bolstered by an expected £149m investment from the private sector, to establish the UK as the world’s leading innovator in smart sustainable plastic packaging, through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.