Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
The 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy acknowledged there were serious gaps in the national data...
Recommendation
The 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy acknowledged there were serious gaps in the national data on waste.21 When we asked how action to combat waste crime could be prioritised without good quality data, Defra told us “There is quite a lot more that we want to do” to improve data on waste crime.22 The Agency said “we think that only about 25% of all waste crime” is reported, and described the level of illegal waste exports as a “known unknown”.23 Defra and the Agency accept that the public cannot rely on information about who are legitimate waste operators as opposed to rogue dealers or “fly-by-night companies”, due to weaknesses in the registration system.24 Data limitations mean that Defra and the Agency are not yet able to comprehensively track their progress against the government’s goal to eradicate waste crime.25
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and will explore the full range of potential solutions to data weaknesses, including satellite technology, and ensure successful delivery of existing initiatives to improve data. They are working together to improve existing data sets to better capture the extent of crime and fraud, commissioning new surveys and research if necessary.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
2. PAC conclusion: Official data do not capture the true scale and impact of waste crime, and government initiatives do not amount to a convincing overall plan to address this. 2a. PAC recommendation: Defra [and the agency] needs to explore the full range of potential solutions to data weaknesses, including for example satellite technology, and ensure successful delivery of existing initiatives to improve data; where these initiatives rely on public reporting there should be appropriate capacity to follow up reported incidents. 2.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 2.2 The department and the agency are working together to improve existing data sets to better capture the extent of crime and fraud, commissioning new surveys and research if necessary. 2.3 The department made a commitment in the Resources and Waste Strategy (RWS) to publish an evaluation plan to evaluate policies introduced through the RWS, including waste crime, and has appointed a consortium led by Ipsos to take this forward. The first element of this, to be published imminently, reports on progress in the RWS evaluation programme. The department is also committed to publishing a framework of indicators annually to track progress towards objectives set out in the strategy. This includes indicators for waste crime – for example indicators on illegal waste sites, fly-tipping, littering. 2.4 Within the evaluation plan for the RWS, a theory of change has been developed for the outcome ‘reducing waste crime’ to identify how to measure the department's impact. This will then be used to identify corresponding indicators needed to evaluate our progress on reducing waste crime. Existing data and metrics will be reviewed and mapped against the evaluation indicators and if there are any indicators where data is unavailable, a monitoring plan will be developed outlining the method and frequency of data collection and analysis. It is expected these gaps will be filled through surveys, data modelling, alternative data sets or proxies, although a full range of potential solutions will be explored. 2b. PAC recommendation: [Defra] and the Agency needs to explore the full range of potential solutions to data weaknesses, including for example satellite technology, and ensure successful delivery of existing initiatives to improve data; where these initiatives rely on public reporting there should be appropriate capacity to follow up reported incidents. 2.5 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 2.6 The agency is aware of the challenges of understanding criminality within the waste sector and will continue to explore ways, including changing the way the agency measures waste crime, to address the acknowledged issue. Examples include how they are exploring data partnerships, satellite technology, digital waste tracking and notifications of waste to explore fraud and error in waste crime. 2.7 The national waste crime survey also provides the agency and the department with independent metrics on the scale and nature of waste crime that is unaffected by internal operational demands. 2.8 In terms of public reporting, the agency records and assesses all reports to determine the most appropriate intervention. Information that is received from the public is analysed, evaluated and risk assessed to translate it into intelligence. Action based on this intelligence is prioritised using Home Office best practice using Management of Risk in Law Enforcement (MoRILE) scoring. With finite public funding, the agency then focuses its efforts on where they will have the most impact.