Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the results of the Roadside Litter working group.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
As set out in the Litter Strategy for England, the Government is determined to take action to tackle roadside litter, and has established of a working group to explore and understand the practical barriers to keeping our roadsides clear of litter, and to help identify and promote best-practice in roadside litter prevention.
The initial barriers identified by the group related primarily to issues which were already the subject of separate commitments under the Litter Strategy. In order for the group to make meaningful recommendations beyond the content of the Strategy, we have therefore prioritised delivery of these commitments. For example, we have recently laid new regulations which, subject to Parliamentary approval, will give councils in England (outside London) new powers to issue civil penalties to the keepers of vehicles from which litter is thrown. We have also appointed Keep Britain Tidy to carry out the proposed independent assessment of the cleanliness of those trunk roads which are maintained by Highways England and litter collected by local councils.
At the same time, a separate group convened by Keep Britain Tidy, and including Highways England and other members of the roadside litter working group, has continued to meet to consider these issues.
Whilst these recommended actions are being taken there is currently no publishable material from the roadside litter working group. We will consider next steps for this group following completion of the survey of cleanliness and confirmation of the new enforcement powers for councils.
Asked by: Baroness Stowell of Beeston (Conservative - Life peer)
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.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
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.