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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning cash transactions from the waste collection sector to help reduce organised fly-tipping.

Cash is extremely important in the lives of many people and businesses. The vast majority of traders and businesses accepting payments in cash will do so honestly. However, in some cases, the anonymous and untraceable nature of cash transactions is perceived to facilitate illicit waste collection that leads to fly-tipping. The increasing use of digital payments and reduction in the use of cash could help prevent fly-tipping. However, the increase in digital payments may only have a limited impact, if the dishonest minority continue to use cash to hide or suppress their income.

As part of the Resources and Waste Strategy we will set out our plans to review the waste carriers, brokers and dealers regime to ensure that those who are part of that trade fully understand their duties and responsibilities and do not fly-tip waste while acting under the veil of legitimacy. This work will build on lessons learned in other parts of the economy such as the use of cashless payments to purchase scrap metal. This measure was introduced as part of the Scrap Metal Dealers act in 2013 which was reviewed last year by the Home Office.