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

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish an update on the work of the Litter Innovation Fund.

The £450,000 Litter Innovation Fund was launched in August 2017 by Defra and DCLG, to provide grants of up to £10,000 to support councils and communities in the development and evaluation of innovative approaches to tackling litter. £45,000 of the funding is ear-marked for projects specifically aimed at tackling litter in the marine environment.

Applications for the first tranche of funding closed in December. The assessment panel had queries on some projects which are currently being followed up with applicants and successful projects will be informed next month. We will publish a list of successful applicants and grant amounts on the WRAP website once they have been awarded.

A second round of applications is expected to open shortly thereafter.