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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a national litter awareness course.

This Government has not made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national litter awareness course.

Local councils have a range of enforcement powers to tackle littering, including civil penalties of up to £500 that can be issued to the keeper of a vehicle from which litter is thrown. Guidance for councils on littering enforcement explains that they are expected to combine enforcement with education in order to change behaviour.