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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the EU’s adoption of a ban on the sale of intentionally added microplastics.

In 2022, Defra initiated a research proposal to investigate the risks of intentionally added microplastics. The evidence project reviewed their emissions, the risks they pose both to human health and the environment, and included a socio-economic assessment of different policy options, including restricting primary microplastics in line with the EU. This was published on 12 May 2025. Defra welcomed the findings of the report, which provides important analysis of the UK-specific emissions of, and policy options for, intentionally added microplastics.