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

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will introduce stricter liability for waste duty of care on large waste producing business.

The Government published its new Waste Crime Action Plan on 20 March which is the toughest ever crackdown on illegal waste. We have no plans to introduce a stricter liability for waste duty of care on large waste producing businesses. Businesses already have a duty to ensure their waste is lawfully managed and the Environment Agency (EA) will make full use of its powers to hold those responsible for illegal waste operations accountable. Additionally, the EA will now publicly name and shame illegal waste operators so that those working in the waste sector understand who has been involved in mishandling waste.

We are also introducing a mandatory digital waste tracking system. This will replace paper-based methods with a modern digital platform upon which details about waste movements will need to be recorded. This will provide environmental regulators with a single system to monitor waste movements in near real time, improving transparency and accountability.