Plastic Confusion?

So, the plastic bag charge starts in England today. But why not make it universal as has been done in the rest of the UK? Somehow the civil servants in Defra (I presume this is where it was drafted) manage to over-complicate everything. The message should be a very simple one - bring your own bag - no matter where you shop. Perhaps with time common sense will prevail. This is, after all, about changing behaviour and the more straight-forward the message the better. Sending confusing signals is just not helpful. However, it's a start.