Plans for 5p levy on plastic bags ‘in a mess’, say MPs

The Government is planning to bring in a 5p charge on single-use plastic bags in England from next year to reduce the number handed out.

But the Environmental Audit Committee said plans to exclude biodegradable bags, paper bags and small retailers from the scheme risk confusing consumers and undermining the effectiveness and benefits of the levy.

The 5p charge should be applied to all types of bags and retailers, a report by the parliamentary committee urged.

Some eight billion single-use bags were handed out across the UK in 2012, but a 5p levy in Wales has shown significant success in reducing the number of carrier bags given out by 75 per cent.

Northern Ireland has also brought in a charge, with Scotland set to do so this year and, in the face of pressure from campaigners, the Government has unveiled plans to bring in a charge in England from next year.

In England, the Environment Department (Defra) has proposed not to impose the charge on biodegradable bags, because it wants the industry to “find innovative approaches to decrease the environmental impact of plastic bags”.

In addition, the 5p levy will not apply to paper bags or reusable plastic “bags for life”, and will not be charged in organisations of fewer than 250 employees.

Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) chairwoman Joan Walley said: “Ministers have managed to make a complete mess of their planned carrier bags charge by making it unnecessarily complicated.

“Carrier bags litter our streets and harm wildlife, and the Government is right to want to reduce their use.

“But Defra seems to have made decisions about the design of this scheme that were based more on wishful thinking than hard evidence.”

She added: “Before the Government reaches the check-out with this policy, it needs to drop the exemptions and keep it simple to help shoppers do the right thing.

“This needn’t be difficult - simple schemes in Wales and Ireland have dramatically reduced bag use, and had positive environmental impact. It’s not too late to start listening and to re-think these flawed plans.”

A number of trade bodies representing smaller retailers oppose the exemption for companies with fewer than 250 employees, the EAC’s report found.

The National Federation of Retail Newsagents, the Association of Convenience Stores and British Retail Consortium said the exemption would distort competition and cause confusion, and their members wanted to participate.

The money raised through the charge will not be collected by the Government but businesses will be “encouraged” to give it to charity.

The report welcomes the proposal that the money should go to charity, but it also urged the Government to spend the VAT raised on the charge - almost 1p out of every 5p - on new environmental projects.

Green councillor in Huddersfield, Andrew Cooper, said: “It is crazy that other countries in the EU can introduce what is a relatively simple environmental measure without difficulty but somehow our Government has managed to complicate it. If this sort of mess had been presided over by Brussels no doubt the Government would be shouting loudly about it.”

Kirklees Council leader Mehboob Khan said the VAT raised should go to environmental schemes, adding: “If we are expecting the public to contribute, the Treasury has to play its part.”