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.
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made, if any, of the number of plastic bags which would be supplied daily to customers by retail outlets in England if a 10p single-use plastic bag charge was introduced on all retail outlets not currently covered; and whether any such number represents a decline in the number of such bags supplied.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The single use carrier bag (SUCB) policy has successfully contributed to a more than 80% reduction in the usage of SUCBs by large retailers. The policy excludes retailers with fewer than 250 employees from the charge.
The Government estimates that 3.6 billion SUCBs were supplied by micro and small businesses (MSMEs) not covered by the charge in 2017 alone.
We estimate that the policy to increase the charge to 10p would cause a decline in consumption of SUCBs in MSMEs (assumed to be 23% in the first year of change and 80% within three years (2020-2022)).
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of plastic bags which are supplied daily to customers by retail outlets in England not covered by the current single-use plastic bag charge.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The single use carrier bag (SUCB) policy has successfully contributed to a more than 80% reduction in the usage of SUCBs by large retailers. The policy excludes retailers with fewer than 250 employees from the charge.
The Government estimates that 3.6 billion SUCBs were supplied by micro and small businesses (MSMEs) not covered by the charge in 2017 alone.
We estimate that the policy to increase the charge to 10p would cause a decline in consumption of SUCBs in MSMEs (assumed to be 23% in the first year of change and 80% within three years (2020-2022)).
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many other countries operate (1) a ban, or (2) a partial ban or charge, on the use of single-use plastic bags.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government does not collect or hold this information. However, a summary of publicly available information is here:
https://study.com/blog/which-countries-have-banned-plastic-bags.htmlhttp://www.bigfatbags.co.uk/bans-taxes-charges-plastic-bags/
Asked by: Lord Hayward (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with supermarket retailers about the pricing of wrapped and unwrapped fruits and vegetables.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The Government regularly engages with stakeholders and organisations in the retail sector directly, through Trade Associations and the Food and Drink Sector Council. This includes discussing current issues, gaining the industry viewpoint and providing policy updates.
The Government is also working with retailers and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to encourage their efforts to reduce waste and to explore the introduction of plastic-free supermarket initiatives in which fresh food is sold loose, giving consumers increased choice.
The Government does not have any role in setting food prices nor does it comment on the pricing policies of the food industry. We work closely with industry to promote transparency for consumers and internationally to promote open global markets. This all helps to create a competitive domestic market for UK consumers.
Food prices, including fruits and vegetables, depend on a range of factors, including commodity prices, exchange rates and oil prices.