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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2017 to Question 69988, whether his Department plans to assess the effects of microplastics on the welfare of non-marine wildlife.

There is a programme of work building on the recommendations from the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry into microbeads. Although there is no specific assessment of the impacts on freshwater wildlife planned at this time, this is an area of ongoing interest in the research community more widely. As with any area of emerging research on the natural environment, our scientists keep outputs under review and scan the horizon for emerging issues, including through working with external experts such as the Science Advisory Council and other committees.