Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 18
18
Acknowledged
The Agency told us how under the current regime almost anybody can register with it...
Conclusion
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 told us how its members are approached by companies posing as legitimate waste operators, offering farmers money in return for temporary storage of waste, only for the companies to then disappear.62 SUEZ Recycling and Recovery UK told us how rogue companies charge low rates for waste collection, undercutting legitimate operators, but then fold leaving the waste for others to clean up. It called for more robust competency requirements for organisations seeking environmental permits.63 The Environmental Services Association also called for reforms to the waste carriers, brokers and dealers regulations to make it more difficult for criminals to enter the waste sector.64 We heard from Defra and the Agency that they are consulting on the regulations, which will be reformed to require a much higher level of technical competence and evidence of not being a rogue dealer, including background and criminal checks, in order to be able to register as a waste operator.65
Government Response Summary
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 financial provision through waste permitting in the sector (planned for 2024), and bring forward UK-wide legislation that sets out the requirements on producers under extended producer responsibility for packaging (planned for 2023).
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Eighteenth Report of Session 2022-23 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs Government actions to combat waste crime Introduction from the Committee Waste crime covers several types of crime, including fly-tipping, illegal waste sites, illegal export of waste, breaches of waste permit conditions and breaches of exemptions to the requirements for waste permits. Evasion of landfill tax or other charges for disposing of waste underlie many of these crimes. Recent data indicate that in general waste crime is increasing, but the true scale of waste crime is uncertain as the available data are not comprehensive, for example because of under-reporting of fly-tipping incidents and undiscovered activity such as illegal waste sites. Barriers to operators entering the waste sector are low, and the large real- terms increase in landfill tax rates after 2004–05 increased the potential financial return to criminals. Defra has policy responsibility for waste, including waste crime. The Agency is the principal body responsible for regulating the waste sector, for investigating certain types of waste crime and taking action against the perpetrators, including illegal waste sites, illegal dumping (the most serious fly-tipping incidents) and breaches of environmental permits and exemptions. HMRC has responsibility for pursuing the evasion of landfill tax in England. Local authorities have powers and duties relating to fly-tipping, and deal with the majority of smaller incidents. Responsibility for clearing waste ultimately sits with the landowner or land manager, including local authorities and public bodies such as National Highways. Based on a report by the National Audit Office, the Committee took evidence on 15 June 2022 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (the department), the Environment Agency (the agency) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The Committee published its report on 19 October 2022. This is the government’s response to the Committee’s report. Relevant reports • NAO report: Investigation into the government’s actions to combat waste crime in England – Session 2021-22 (HC 1149) • PAC report: Government actions to combat waste crime – Session 2021-22 (HC 33) Government response to the Committee 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 2 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 additiona