Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reduce littering.

This government is committed to reducing litter and have put in place the first-ever national litter strategy.

The Government will now for the first time work with town halls, campaign groups and businesses- including fast food firms, manufacturers of chewing gum and the packaging industry- to ensure a coherent and joined-up approach.

Since the Government published its response to the CLG Select Committee Report in December I have met with a whole host of NGOs, manufacturers of commonly-littered items, members of both Houses of Parliament, and of course local government to discuss what we can be doing.