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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what enforcement action the Environment Agency plans to take against brokers who fail to submit geo-tagged photographic evidence demonstrating that consignments arrived at their intended destination.

The Environment Agency (EA) takes appropriate action to bring businesses within the waste sector back into compliance and to prevent and disrupt criminal activity. This includes providing advice and guidance for businesses trying to do the right thing, issuing enforcement notices where necessary, and, when required, pursuing prosecution as a last resort.

If exporters fail to provide geotagged photographs showing that consignments have reached their destination, the EA will carry out further checks, including reviewing any alternative evidence that the waste was managed appropriately. Where the destination cannot be verified, the EA may prohibit future shipments from a specific operator or to a particular destination. It will also consider taking enforcement action for failing to comply with the notice.