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

To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what steps they are taking to monitor the use of funds derived from the introduction of the charge on single-use plastic carrier bags, and (2) whether individual businesses are required to report on the amounts raised and donated from this source.

In October 2015, the Government introduced the mandatory minimum 5p charge for single use carrier bags (SUCBs) in England on all large retailers to tackle the negative impacts associated with their use on the environment, wildlife and society.

The policy has resulted in an 86% reduction in the usage of SUCBs by large retailers. This represents approximately 15.6 billion fewer bags in circulation.

The Regulations require retailers with more than 250 staff to charge a minimum of 5p and report data on their annual sales of SUCBs. Those retailers are encouraged to donate the proceeds of the charge (after deducting VAT and other reasonable costs) to good causes such as charities or community groups and to voluntarily report that data. Our analysis shows that since the charge was introduced approximately £146 million has been donated to a variety of good causes covering the arts, education, environment, health, heritage and sports as well as local causes chosen by customers or staff.

The Government is currently consulting on extending the charge to all retailers and increasing the minimum charge to 10p.