Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Accepted
The 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy does not set out a pathway to government’s ultimate...
Recommendation
The 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy does not set out a pathway to government’s ultimate goal of eliminating waste crime by 2043.18 Defra acknowledged that its reporting on progress implementing the strategy and towards this goal has been limited. The Agency told us how it is expanding its metrics beyond its current quarterly reporting on the number of high-risk illegal waste sites, to a suite of measures including the proportion 6 C&AG’s Report, Figure 21 7 Qq 3, 17, 56, 61, 64, 86 8 Qq 17, 88; C&AG’s Report, Figure 21 9 Qq 17–18 10 Qq 87–88 11 Qq 5, 7, 43, 49 12 Q 31 13 Q 3 14 Q 88 15 C&AG’s Report, figure 21 16 GWC0003 (ESA); GWC0006 (ADEPT); GWC0007 (SUEZ) 17 Qq 25–28, 88 18 C&AG’s Report, para 24, Figure 24 Government actions to combat waste crime 11 of waste that is being handled legitimately, the amount of waste prevented from illegal export, and the amount of hazardous waste discovered to be misdescribed to avoid tax.19 Defra is relying on an externally contracted evaluation of the strategy, due to complete in 2027, to identify further actions that it may need to take.20 Improving waste crime data
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will provide the committee with its outline plan for achieving the elimination of waste crime by 2043 by October 2022, and provide annual updates on progress against this plan. They will also evaluate the Resources and Waste Strategy to assess the impact of current measures towards eliminating waste crime by 2043.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
1. PAC conclusion: Progress implementing the actions from the Resources and Waste Strategy has been slow and piecemeal, and Defra does not have an outline delivery plan for achieving its ambition of eliminating waste crime by 2043. 1. PAC recommendation: Defra should increase the impetus with which the Resources and waste strategy is taken forward. By October 2022, it should provide the committee with its outline plan for achieving the elimination of waste crime by 2043, and provide annual updates on progress against this plan. 1.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 1.2 Tackling waste crime is a government priority and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (the department) is taking forward the commitments in its Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) as a priority. Although some delivery has been slower than originally planned, the government has already made a number of significant steps, both in the lead-up to the Strategy’s publication and since, delivering a number of the Strategy’s commitments to tighten the net on waste criminals and give them no place to hide. These include policy, regulatory and operational actions by the department, the Environment Agency (the agency) or HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). 1.3 The department has recently published the third edition of its annual dataset, enabling high level monitoring of progress against the strategy. This includes key indicators for waste crime: currently illegal waste sites, fly tipping and littering. 1.4 The department is currently preparing further reforms to continue to increase the pressure on illegal waste operators. 1.5 Looking ahead, the department’s plan is: • publishing the response on exemptions reform (planned for late 2022, implementation by 2024); • introducing mandatory digital waste tracking (planned for 2024); • reforming the waste carriers, brokers and dealers’ regime (planned for 2024); • consulting on implementing financial provision through waste permitting in the sector (planned for 2024); and • bringing forward UK-wide legislation that sets out the requirements on producers under extended producer responsibility for packaging (planned for 2023). 1.6 ‘Seeking to eliminate waste crime’ is an objective set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP), published in 2018. The 25YEP will be updated every five years through the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) process and a revised plan will be published in early 2023. 1.7 The evaluation of the Resources and Waste Strategy will also be used to assess the impact of the department’s current measures towards eliminating waste crime by 2043. Together with additional research planned for 2023, this will inform decisions about the department’s next policy and regulatory reform priorities, as to seek to eliminate waste crime by 2043.