Asked by
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to
reduce fly-tipping and its impacts on natural environments.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs () (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register.
Fly-tipping and illegal dumping of waste blight our local
communities and damage the environment. The Government have given
the Environment Agency an extra £10 million a year to tackle
waste crime, including illegal waste sites and large-scale
illegal dumping, which is often perpetrated by organised crime
syndicates. We are also helping councils to take tougher action
on local fly-tipping by more than doubling the maximum
on-the-spot fine and providing £1.2 million in grants, with a
further £1 million to follow later this summer.
(LD)
My Lords, large-scale criminal enterprise fly-tipping is out of
control and increased by 13% between 2021 and 2022. In areas such
as Hoads Wood it was reported that up to 30 trucks of illegal
waste were dumped every day between July last year and January
this year, with no effective action taken. Campaign groups
estimate that it will now cost £10 million to clear up the waste.
Will the Government commit to meeting the full costs of this
clean-up and undertake a review into this specific case, to
assess the resources and effectiveness of enforcement action
against large-scale fly-tipping?
(Con)
I completely agree with the noble Earl that the illegal dumping
of waste at Hoads Wood is appalling, and a full criminal
investigation is under way. I am unable to comment further on the
details of that live investigation as I do not wish to prejudice
potential enforcement action. However, I assure the House that
the Government are determined to bring those responsible to
account. Specifically on Hoads Wood, the Secretary of State has
written to the chief executive of the Environment Agency, asking
him to draw up delivery plans to ensure that appropriate action
is taken to resolve this wholly unacceptable situation. As part
of that, we will consider how best to support the clearance of
waste from the site. The Environment Agency has powers to recover
the cost of action to clear the waste from those responsible. The
Secretary of State has also asked the chief executive of the
Environment Agency to review the agency's actions in relation to
the site, including what lessons it and other agencies involved
in the local partnership tackling this can learn.
of Pickering (Con)
My Lords, will my noble friend commit to ensuring that
prosecutions are indeed brought? Does he accept that, if matters
are taken into the landowner's own hands, this could be a very
retrograde step? What conversations has he had with the Home
Office and his department in this regard to ensure that
prosecutions are brought and perpetrators brought to book?
(Con)
The Government have put in a series of plans recently to assist
councils with preparing the evidence to assist with prosecutions.
Fly-tipping and illegal dumping is a serious crime and offenders
can face a significant fine or a prison sentence. While
sentencing is a matter for the independent courts, we have worked
with the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group to produce a guide
on how councils and others can build a robust case for
prosecutions.
(PC)
My Lords, does the Minister accept that one of the important
factors that influences the degree of fly-tipping is the
availability of regular, transparent and dependable systems for
the collection of waste? Will he have a look at the high figures
in Wales for recycling and see whether some lessons can be learnt
for elsewhere?
(Con)
I would be delighted to do that and undertake to do it.
(Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest in a family farm business that
bears an ever-increasing burden of having to clear up fly-tipped
waste, particularly building waste—which recently included a most
attractive bathroom suite left in an open meadow. Can the
Minister say whether any consideration has been given to
requiring waste carrier licensees to display some form of licence
on their vehicles? Does the Minister agree that fly-tippers might
be deterred from carrying and dumping waste if they and their
illegal purpose were more easily identifiable because of the
absence of a visible licence on their vehicle?
(Con)
My noble friend makes an extremely good point and, under the new
regulations that we are just about to bring out, we are looking
at exactly how those permitted to use these regulations have to
display the relevant permit, where they display it and how they
advertise it, to make it much more clear to those using these
facilities whether they are acting legally.
(Lab)
My Lords, fly-tipping has increased because many councils do not
have weekly refuse collection and charge people for taking items
to the local refuse collection centres. A major reason behind
this is that council spending power as funded by the Government
fell in real terms by more than 50% between 2010-11 and 2020-21,
and this has not been restored. What responsibility does the
Minister accept for creating an environment for fly-tipping?
(Con)
No, I do not recognise that at all. Defra grants have helped over
30 councils across the country to tackle fly-tipping at hotspots,
such as by installing CCTV and putting up fencing. Further grants
to support even more councils are due this summer. Furthermore,
councils retain all income from fixed-penalty notices, the upper
limit for which has recently been increased to £1,000, and this
is ring- fenced for local enforcement and clean-up.
(Lab)
My Lords, will the Government encourage those who have building
waste to tip to put it into filling the potholes in the road?
That would kill two birds with one stone.
(Con)
That is a novel idea. I am certainly happy to take it away and
consider it extremely carefully.
(CB)
My Lords, the Minister told us earlier that the Government were
going to tackle waste sites. I would love to know what that
actually means. If it means clearing them up, it simply creates
the space for more waste to be tipped. He also talked about
on-the-spot fines. The essence of fly-tipping is that there is no
one on the spot when you tip it.
Noble Lords
Oh!
(CB)
That is not personal experience. I came across one fly-tipping
incident where the offender had actually thrown down the parking
ticket that was previously attached to their vehicle and had
their number on it. When the police found this, they told me they
were not going to take any action because the person whose
vehicle it was would simply deny they were driving it.
(Con)
The noble Lord raises a series of extremely good points. By the
very nature of fly-tipping, as he rightly points out, it is
extremely difficult to be in the right place at the right time
when someone is doing it. I completely accept that there are
limitations around this. However, the Government have introduced
a number of new initiatives, such as the use of cameras, to help
councils on this issue. It is very difficult to deal with it. To
be honest, my personal view is that it is an education issue
rather than an enforcement issue, but we are probably getting a
little off topic.
of Ullock (Lab)
My Lords, the Minister has outlined some of the initiatives that
the Government are bringing in to help combat this, which is
clearly welcome, but recent figures show the number of
fixed-penalty notices issued decreased by 19% and the number of
court fines decreased by 17%. There is no point in bringing in
new initiatives and increasing penalties if they are not used. Is
the Minister satisfied that sufficient resources are supplied to
local authorities and the police to ensure that fly-tippers are
caught and properly punished?
(Con)
The noble Baroness raises the issue that the previous noble Lord
also raised. It is extremely difficult, by the very nature of the
activity, to police it 100%. In his Anti-Social Behaviour Action
Plan, the Prime Minister made it clear that councils should take
a tougher approach to enforcement and make greater use of the
fixed penalties available to them. We have also taken steps to
encourage councils to issue more of these penalties by increasing
transparency on their use, through the publication of annual
enforcement league tables. Councils must also now invest the
income from this in enforcement activity and clean-up.
of Hardington Mandeville
(LD)
My Lords, there has been discussion around the introduction of
digital waste tracking by April 2025. This would make a huge
difference to the amount of waste produced and dumped, and help
to keep the countryside clear of waste pollutants. When is the SI
covering digital waste tracking likely to be brought forward?
(Con)
The noble Baroness is absolutely right about digital waste
tracking, because it will reduce the ability of waste criminals
to hide evidence of the mishandling of waste and will make it
easier for authorities to identify waste dropping out of the
system, which might indicate illegal activity, such as
fly-tipping. Digital waste tracking records will be required when
private waste management companies collect household waste. This
should enable householders to check whether their waste has been
disposed of properly. We are working towards the digital waste
tracking service becoming mandatory from April 2025. Prior to the
service being mandatory, there will be a period of public use
when the service will be available for all to use on a voluntary
basis.
