Mr Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of supermarkets on reducing packaging. [137601]

Mr Bradshaw ( Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs): My Ministerial colleagues and I have had a number of recent meetings with senior supermarket representatives to discuss a wide range of environmental issues, including packaging.

All the major retailers and several major brands have agreed to a Government request to reduce the amount of packaging in the first place, designing out packaging growth by 2008 and deliver absolute reductions in packaging by March 2010.