Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 26 March (HL2548), whether they have published the revised impact assessment agreed by the Regulatory Policy Committee; if so, (1) where it is published, and (2) whether they clearly identified the differences between the original and the revised version.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government will publish the revised impact assessment on extending the carrier bag charge to small and medium-sized retailers, which has been assessed as fit for purpose by the Regulatory Policy Committee, alongside the summary of the responses to the consultation and the Government response setting out next steps. We intend to publish these documents shortly.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the impact of the introduction of a plastic bag charge for small and medium-sized retailers; and when they intend to publicise their plans for the introduction of that charge.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government will publish the revised impact assessment on extending the carrier bag charge to small and medium-sized retailers, which has been assessed as fit for purpose by the Regulatory Policy Committee, alongside the summary of the responses to the consultation and the Government response setting out next steps. We intend to publish these documents shortly.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park on 6 March (HL1745 and HL1746), whether they intend to publish the revised impact assessment agreed by the Regulatory Policy Committee; if so, when; and what plans they have to identify the differences between that assessment and their initial assessment.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Government will publish the revised impact assessment, which has been assessed as fit for purpose by the Regulatory Policy Committee, alongside the summary of the responses to the consultation and the Government response setting out next steps.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to make an announcement in relation to the introduction of a plastic bag charge for small and medium-sized retailers.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The 5p charge has been highly successful at reducing the use of single-use plastic carrier bags, doing so by over 90% in the main retailers since its introduction in 2015.
To build on this success and encourage further behaviour change, last year the Government consulted on increasing the charge to a minimum 10p and extending it to all retailers. Our initial assessment indicates that a 10p charge would bring a further 90% reduction at supermarkets and 80% reduction at high street retailers in year one. This would be followed by a 90% reduction at small retailers by year three. Changes such as these are complex and will take time, and we will publish the summary of responses and a Government response setting out next steps in due course.
Upon review, the Regulatory Policy Committee, an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, have agreed to the revised impact assessment and given it a positive ‘green’ rating. More information will be published along with the Government response in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have changed their analysis of the impact of the introduction of a plastic bag charge for small and medium-sized retailers since July 2019.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The 5p charge has been highly successful at reducing the use of single-use plastic carrier bags, doing so by over 90% in the main retailers since its introduction in 2015.
To build on this success and encourage further behaviour change, last year the Government consulted on increasing the charge to a minimum 10p and extending it to all retailers. Our initial assessment indicates that a 10p charge would bring a further 90% reduction at supermarkets and 80% reduction at high street retailers in year one. This would be followed by a 90% reduction at small retailers by year three. Changes such as these are complex and will take time, and we will publish the summary of responses and a Government response setting out next steps in due course.
Upon review, the Regulatory Policy Committee, an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, have agreed to the revised impact assessment and given it a positive ‘green’ rating. More information will be published along with the Government response in due course.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Gardiner of Kimble on 17 July 2019 (HL Deb, col 232), what advice they received from the Regulatory Policy Committee concerning the costs and benefits of introducing a 10p plastic bag charge; and when they intend to publish their proposals on the introduction of a 10p plastic bag charge.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The Regulatory Policy Committee have scrutinised our impact assessment on the costs and benefits of extending the carrier bag charge to all retailers and increasing the minimum charge to 10p, assessing it as fit-for-purpose. The impact assessment will be published alongside the Government response to our consultation on these measures shortly.