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

To ask His Majesty's Government what powers they have to reissue the 2019 Code of Practice on Litter and Refuse as binding statutory guidance on local councils and outsourced firms; and what plans they have, if any, to use those powers to do so in the current parliament.

The Environment Act 2021 will allow us to place our current litter enforcement guidance on a firm statutory footing, giving those to which it applies a clear and explicit duty to have regard to it when exercising their enforcement functions. We have committed to doing so in the Environmental Improvement Plan and will provide further details in due course.