Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to (1) review the investigatory and enforcement responsibilities of, and (2) promote inter-agency co-operation and information sharing between, (a) local authorities, (b) the police, and (c) the Environment Agency in relation to instances of fly-tipping.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC) was launched in January 2020 as a multi-agency taskforce to share intelligence and operational capability and capacity to tackle serious and organised criminality in the waste sector.

It brings together the Environment Agency, HMRC, National Crime Agency, the police, waste regulators from across the UK and other operational partners to share intelligence and tasking to disrupt and prevent serious organised waste crime. JUWC works with local partners operationally as appropriate, including local authorities.

The JUWC published its latest annual review at GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the merits of introducing a single national reporting route for instances of fly-tipping.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Individuals can already report illegal waste activity anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online. Local authorities are often best placed to tackle local issues such as fly-tipping, and so any single national reporting route would need to pass reports on to the relevant local authority. Incidents can already be reported to the relevant local authority online. Individuals can get help on identifying the relevant local authority webpage at GOV.UK.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any barriers to information sharing in relation to instances of fly-tipping between (1) local authorities, (2) the police, and (3) the Environment Agency, that may arise from current data protection legislation.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is not aware of any barriers to information sharing in relation to instances of fly-tipping between local authorities, the police and the Environment Agency that may arise from current data protection legislation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish a working relationship between the National Rural Crime Unit and the proposed National Police Service.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The National Police Service will take on the range of operational functions that currently sit with lead forces, coordinated through the NPCC. The Government will work closely with the NPCC on the transition of these functions.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to mandate the fitting of engine immobilisers to off-road vehicles prior to sale, under the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

We have always been committed to implementing the Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 and fully support its aims to tackle the theft and resale of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).

The Act gives power for immobilisers to be fit as standard, but significant concerns were raised about the impact on existing Type Approval regulations, which are in place to ensure the safety of new vehicles before sale.

We absolutely cannot compromise vehicle safety and as a result, we will not be including the fitting of immobilisers to new ATVs at this time.

However, we will be introducing secondary legislation in relation to the property marking and the registration of all new ATVs onto a property marking database. Removable GPS units which are particularly vulnerable to theft will also be included within these provisions. This will assist police in identifying the rightful owner if they are recovered and also makes stolen vehicles and equipment harder to sell on, which has a deterrent effect.

Question to the Attorney General:

To ask His Majesty's Government what statistics are available comparing prosecution rates for crimes recorded in (1) rural, and (2) urban, locations.

Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General

This Government is committed to protecting our rural communities, as well as tackling crimes that predominantly affect these communities, such as machinery theft. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) prosecutors work closely with local police officers and officers from the National Wildlife Crime Unit to tackle all types of rural crime.

The CPS provides legal guidance on Rural crime, which is available to all its prosecutors, to assist them in dealing with these cases. They also provide specialist training to ensure that its prosecutors have the expert knowledge needed to prosecute these crimes.

The CPS does not hold any central record of prosecutions for crimes recorded in either rural or urban areas. In the most recent twelve months (ending March 2025) the CPS completed prosecutions in respect of 449,573 defendants and to identify which of these prosecutions relate to criminal activity in rural or urban locations would require a manual review of each case and this would be at a disproportionate cost.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council Wildlife and Rural Crime Strategy 2025 - 2028 provides a framework through which policing, and its partners, can work together to provide a dedicated and tailored support for rural communities and those who live and work within them. This strategy is a key step in our mission to deliver safer streets applies to all communities, urban and rural, across the country