Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministerial Statement

Waste Crime

20 October 2022 · 3 other contributors

Opened by Geoffrey Clifton-Brown Con North Cotswolds

Environment

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown raised concerns about waste crime in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • The Minister noted the release of a Public Accounts Committee report on Government actions to combat waste crime
  • Despite an increase in incidents and costs, progress remains slow and piecemeal
  • The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs aims to eliminate waste crime by 2043 but has only completed three out of fourteen outlined actions since the strategy's introduction in 2018

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Government Statement

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

The Minister noted the release of a Public Accounts Committee report on Government actions to combat waste crime. He highlighted that despite an increase in incidents and costs, progress remains slow and piecemeal. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) aims to eliminate waste crime by 2043 but has only completed three out of fourteen outlined actions since the strategy's introduction in 2018. Waste crime, including fly-tipping and illegal exportation, costs over £1 billion annually and is under-reported due to data weaknesses. The minister emphasised that DEFRA must expedite implementation and work closely with HMRC to address tax incentives for waste crime and improve enforcement measures.

Other contributors (3)
  • Kevan Jones

    Question

    The MP expressed concern about the Government's inaction despite ten years of raising awareness on waste crime and called for sustained pressure from Committees like the Public Accounts Committee to ensure progress is made. He emphasised that without such pressure, addressing this issue will continue to be ineffective.

  • Kevan Jones Lab Durham North

    Question

    First, I thank the hon. Gentleman for his statement and the Committee for an excellent report. I also thank the National Audit Office for its inquiry into Operation Nosedive, which was instigated by me and the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis). What is depressing about the report is that these are things both of us have been raising for the last 10 years, and no one has been listening. The actions outlined are ones I support, but this is not a victimless crime. Tax has been avoided, criminals have got away with these crimes and communities have been blighted. Can I urge the hon. Gentleman and his Committee to make sure that they keep their finger on the button on this subject? I and the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden have been at this for 10 years, and in our experience the evidence is there about what is going wrong, but the Government have just turned a blind eye—indeed, they have basically decriminalised waste crime. Without such pressure from his Committee, this will just carry on.

    Minister reply

    I thank the right hon. Member, who is very experienced in this field and has been campaigning on this, quite rightly, for a long time. We have made some fairly stringent recommendations in this report, with some fairly tight timetables for what the Government have to do by when. I can assure him that if we do not see satisfactory progress, we will call DEFRA back to examine why our recommendations have not been properly implemented. As he knows, it is part of the PAC system that we have the ability to call witnesses back and find out why they have not responded to our recommendations. As he also knows, as I said it at the beginning of my statement, it has 42 days in which to respond. If we do not like the responses, we can follow that up in writing or, again, call back witnesses.

Shadow Comment

Kevan Jones

The shadow acknowledged the report's findings but criticised the Government's inaction over the past decade, emphasising that without pressure from Committees like the Public Accounts Committee, progress on tackling waste crime will remain insufficient. The shadow urged continued scrutiny to ensure that actions are taken to address this significant issue.

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