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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to join countries including Tanzania in the banning of the (a) production, (b) importation, (c) sale and (d) use of single-use plastic bags.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

A number of Commonwealth countries have introduced either a ban or a levy on plastic bags. To achieve global change the UK has called on members of the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance, which we lead with Vanuatu, to significantly reduce single-use carrier bags (SUCBs) by 2021.

The Government currently has no plans to introduce a ban on SUCBs. However, we have already taken action to reduce the consumption of SUCBs in England through the minimum 5p levy which applies to large retailers. Additionally, we recently carried out a consultation to extend the charge to all retailers and to increase the charge to a minimum 10p. The outcome of that consultation will be published soon.