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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that his Department is using the most up to date data available to inform its new life cycle assessment of disposable and washable absorbent hygiene products.

The environmental assessment of disposable and reusable absorbent hygiene products is being undertaken by independent analysts. They have taken into consideration information including a recent survey using YouGov Parents Omnibus to establish current ages for potty training, and are using the most recent and best available international lifecycle inventory databases and secondary data in the public domain, supported by primary data provided by industry where this has been forthcoming. The analysts are in the final stages of completing the work which will be published later this year, following peer review. The sources of the information used will be included in the final report.