Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what role the National Crime Agency currently plays in tackling organised waste crime.

National leadership for tackling waste crime sits with the Environment Agency. Its Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC) brings together operational partners (including the NCA) to coordinate the response. The NCA can investigate waste crime where cases meet the thresholds of complexity and severity outlined in the National Tasking Model. In practice, this is most likely where waste crime overlaps with an existing NCA priority threat.

The NCA also hosts the National Assessments Centre, which draws on law enforcement intelligence to produce threat assessments for policing, Government and operational partners. These assessments are shared with bodies such as the Environment Agency and the JUWC and can help inform their understanding of serious and organised crime risks including those associated with waste crime.