Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she plans to improve the collection of data on the environmental impacts of fly-tipping on habitats.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents to Defra, which are published annually here. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is currently being processed.
Local authorities are required to report to Defra the size of a fly-tipping incident, its waste type and the land-type where it occurred. However, this does not cover if the area is a particular habitat or a woodland.
Defra regularly evaluates the data on fly-tipping incidents we collect from local authorities. There are no current plans to require local authorities to report additional data on fly-tipping to Defra.
While the Environment Agency (EA) collects data on the land type at the location of an illegal dumping incident and its environmental impact, the EA does not routinely collect data on whether it is a woodland area or the specific habitat type.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether local authorities are required to record the habitat type affected by each reported fly-tipping incident.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents to Defra, which are published annually here. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is currently being processed.
Local authorities are required to report to Defra the size of a fly-tipping incident, its waste type and the land-type where it occurred. However, this does not cover if the area is a particular habitat or a woodland.
Defra regularly evaluates the data on fly-tipping incidents we collect from local authorities. There are no current plans to require local authorities to report additional data on fly-tipping to Defra.
While the Environment Agency (EA) collects data on the land type at the location of an illegal dumping incident and its environmental impact, the EA does not routinely collect data on whether it is a woodland area or the specific habitat type.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many recorded incidents of fly-tipping in each of the last five years took place in or adjacent to areas designated as (a) Sites of Special Scientific Interest, (b) Special Protection Areas and (c) Special Areas of Conservation.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Fly-tipping (or the illegal dumping of waste) should generally be reported to the relevant local authority wherever it occurs (see guidance at https://www.gov.uk/report-flytipping). Local authorities and the Environment Agency have existing powers to require landowners to clear fly-tipped waste from their land.
With regard to statutory protected sites ie (a) Sites of Special Scientific Interest, (b) Special Protection Areas and (c) Special Areas of Conservation, Natural England would be dependent on direct observations or reports shared from other public bodies or other stakeholders. Please note that all non-marine Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation will be underpinned by Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England may be more likely to be informed about incidents within protected sites than adjacent to. The numbers of ‘dumping cases’* recorded by Natural England from the last five years are shown in the table below:
Year | No. Dumping cases |
2018-22 | 10 |
2022-23 | 3 |
2023-24 | 0 |
2024-25 | 6 |
This is based on Natural England’s casework tracker and published enforcement reports, which does not easily enable cases to be listed separately by protected site type. These cases will relate to Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
* Natural England does not explicitly record fly tipping but it is recorded within a ‘Dumping’ category which could also include land owners using sites to store waste.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to Department for Transport guidance entitled Cycle infrastructure design (LTN 1/20), published on 27 July 2020, whether he plans to revise (a) the National Planning Policy Framework and (b) guidance to require new residential and mixed-use developments to provide high-quality permeability for walking and cycling.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, using a vision-led approach to identify transport solutions that deliver well-designed, sustainable, and popular places. This should involve identifying and pursuing opportunities to promote walking and cycling.
The Framework also outlines that when assessing sites that may be allocated in local development plans, or specific development applications, it should be ensured that sustainable transport modes are prioritised taking account of the vision for the site, the type of development and its location, and that safe and suitable access to the site can be achieved for all users. Within this context, applications for development should give priority first to pedestrian and cycle movements, both within the scheme and with neighbouring areas, and should create places that are safe, secure, and attractive and which minimise scope for conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles.
We are currently consulting on changes to the Framework, including updated policies on sustainable transport which seek to further embed a vision-led approach to transport planning. The consultation will remain open for responses until 10 March 2026 and can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers public authorities have to restrict vehicular access to Sites of Special Scientific Interest where ecological damage has been, or is being, wilfully caused.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All public bodies have a statutory duty to take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of the special features of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), including where an SSSI spans multiple landownerships. Natural England (NE) works with all relevant parties to ensure appropriate protection is in place.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides the main framework for protecting SSSIs. It controls operations likely to damage an SSSI’s special features and includes enforcement powers to stop harmful activities, including those involving vehicles.
Any owner or occupier of land on a SSSI who wishes to carry out, or permit others to carry out, an activity likely to damage an SSSI, must obtain consent from NE. Failing to do so is an offence in the absence of a reasonable excuse. NE has various powers in such circumstances, including a power to issue enforcement notices, and require restoration. These consent procedures provide NE with powers to restrict or regulate vehicular access to SSSIs where ecological damage has occurred or is at risk.
In addition, section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 enables NE to make byelaws for the protection of SSSIs, which could include restricting vehicular entry.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers public authorities have to restrict vehicular access to Sites of Special Scientific Interest that span multiple land ownerships where ecological damage is taking place.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All public bodies have a statutory duty to take reasonable steps to further the conservation and enhancement of the special features of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), including where an SSSI spans multiple landownerships. Natural England (NE) works with all relevant parties to ensure appropriate protection is in place.
The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 provides the main framework for protecting SSSIs. It controls operations likely to damage an SSSI’s special features and includes enforcement powers to stop harmful activities, including those involving vehicles.
Any owner or occupier of land on a SSSI who wishes to carry out, or permit others to carry out, an activity likely to damage an SSSI, must obtain consent from NE. Failing to do so is an offence in the absence of a reasonable excuse. NE has various powers in such circumstances, including a power to issue enforcement notices, and require restoration. These consent procedures provide NE with powers to restrict or regulate vehicular access to SSSIs where ecological damage has occurred or is at risk.
In addition, section 28R of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 enables NE to make byelaws for the protection of SSSIs, which could include restricting vehicular entry.