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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to help tackle waste crime in Wellingborough constituency.

The Government is committed to tackling waste crime, which is a blight on our local communities and the environment and damages legitimate businesses. We have strengthened regulators' powers, are tightening the law and have increased the Environment Agency's budget by £10 million per year to make it harder for rogue operators to find work in the sector and easier for regulators to take action against criminals. We are also providing grants to councils across the country to help them purchase equipment to tackle fly-tipping. North Northamptonshire council has been awarded £25,176 in the recently announced third round of the Fly-tipping Intervention Grant scheme.

Waste crime in the constituency is addressed at several partnerships, the Northants Waste Enforcement Group, North Northamptonshire Community Safety Partnership and the Acquisitive and Rural Crime Group. All partnerships are linked on serious waste crime and fly-tipping by attendance of the same Environment Agency officer. This ensures information and intelligence is shared effectively.

Engagement and information sharing directs where collaboration is most needed at any time in the county. Wellingborough is also covered by the Northants Project Plutus Partnership, the first in England to identify waste crime as a priority for cash-based money laundering. Project Plutus information sharing led directly to an Environment Agency-led intervention with Police and North Northants Council stopping a large-scale illegal waste operation that had potential to impact neighbouring Wellingborough. This is a significant investigation due to go to trial.

The highly effective Operation Clean Sweep multi-agency days of action have been taking place in the Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire Environment Agency area. The intention is for the Environment Agency to extend this into North Northamptonshire and, when required, into Wellingborough.