Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Government actions to combat waste crime

Status: Closed Opened: 19 May 2022 Closed: 14 Dec 2022 26 recommendations 2 conclusions 1 report

Between 2004-05 and 2014-15, landfill tax on waste that emits greenhouse gases rose from £15 per tonne to £80 per tonne - a rise that saw the amount of waste sent to landfill reduce by 75% between 2010-11 and 2020-21. At the same time the money criminals could make by avoiding landfill tax through the …

Reports

1 report

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Eighteenth Report - Government actions to combat waste crime	HC 33	19 Oct 2022	28	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items

4 Recommendation Eighteenth Report - Government actions … Acknowledged

The current sanctions are not effective in deterring people from committing waste crime.

The current sanctions are not effective in deterring people from committing waste crime. Under the current regime almost anybody can register with the Agency as a waste carrier and present themselves to the public as a legitimate person to take away their waste. The Agency is increasingly concentrating its enforcement …

Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation and aims to be more effective by reducing the drivers for waste offending, preventing opportunities for offending and improving deterrents. The agency is now working further upstream to prevent crime and harm before …

HM Treasury

1 Conclusion Eighteenth Report - Government actions … Acknowledged

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Environment Agency (the Agency) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about government actions to combat waste crime in England.1

Government response. The government agrees that tackling waste crime is a priority and highlights existing steps like the RWS, but acknowledges that delivery has been slower than planned. They highlight future plans for reforms, consultations, and legislation related to waste management and …

HM Treasury

18 Conclusion Eighteenth Report - Government actions … Acknowledged

The Agency told us how under the current regime almost anybody can register with it...

The Agency told us how under the current regime almost anybody can register with it as a waste carrier, broker or dealer and present themselves as a legitimate waste operator. Several organisations submitted evidence to our enquiry that demonstrated how this lax approach enables waste crime. The National Farmers Union …

Government response. The department is planning to publish the response on exemptions reform (planned for late 2022, implementation by 2024), introduce mandatory digital waste tracking (planned for 2024), reform the waste carriers, brokers and dealers’ regime (planned for 2024), consult on implementing …

HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session

Date	Witnesses
15 Jun 2022	Richard Las · HM Revenue and Customs, Sir James Bevan · Environment Agency, Tamara Finkelstein · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	View ↗

Correspondence

2 letters

Date	Direction	Title
12 Jan 2023	—	Correspondence from Tamara Finkelstein CB, Permanent Secretary, The Department …
5 Jul 2022	—	Correspondence from Tamara Finkelstein, Permanent Secretary, Department for Env…