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 take steps to increase the level of sentencing for fly-tipping.

The Sentencing Guideline for environmental offences was reviewed and strengthened in 2014. The maximum penalty on indictment for fly-tipping is imprisonment of up to five years or a potentially unlimited fine. The Government will continue to provide information to the Sentencing Council as they monitor the impact of the guidance.

The Government is committed to tackling fly-tipping at all levels. We have recently given local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small scale fly-tipping and enhanced the local authorities’ and the Environment Agency’s ability to search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers.