Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will increase fines for fly-tipping in order to provide a deterrent in response to reports that the majority of fines given to offenders caught fly-tipping are lower than the cost of hiring a skip; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Fly-tipping is a menace – which is why we have been taking significant action to stamp it out.
Our proposals on electronic waste tracking will replace outdated paper forms with a robust online system. Our proposed reforms to licencing for waste carriers and brokers will allow us to clamp down hard on rogue waste operations, and make it easier than ever to detect unlicensed operators. These build on enhanced enforcement powers in last year’s Environment Act, and on £350,000 of Defra grant funding for local council projects to tackle areas of persistent fly-tipping.
In 2016 we legislated to introduce a fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping of up to £400 – but, for more serious offences, prosecution allows for an unlimited fine and up to five years imprisonment. While sentencing is a matter for courts, we are working with the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to produce a guide on how councils and others can present robust prosecutions which should support tougher sentences. We intend to publish this in the spring.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans he has to renew the annual grant to the Canal and River Trust when the current funding period ends; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The 15-year Grant Agreement signed in 2012 between Defra and the Canal and River Trust (CRT) requires that a review of the grant is undertaken at the 10-year point to inform a decision on any future Government funding beyond 2026/27 when the current grant period ends. This review is currently underway and will consider the case and context for any future funding arrangements, reporting by 1 July 2022.