Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 19
Eighteenth Report - Government actions to combat waste crime
Published 19 Oct 2022
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Government actions to combat waste crime All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Agency told us how current sanctions often have limited deterrent effect. It considers that the only penalty that makes a difference to many waste criminals, particularly one from an organised crime group, is a custodial sentence, but even when these are imposed they are often not long enough to deter further crime. Fines are not high enough and are treated as business expenses by waste criminals.66 The Agency acknowledged that sentencing guidelines require courts to have regard to guilty individuals’ ability to pay, but asserted that larger fines, and more and longer custodial sentences, would act as greater deterrents.67 It told us that it is using the Proceeds of Crime Act more frequently to confiscate criminals’ assets, which as well as acting as strong deterrent has the added benefit of generating revenue for the Agency, in contrast to fines where the money goes to HM Treasury.68
From: Public Accounts Committee, Eighteenth Report - Government actions to combat waste crime (HC 33), 19 October 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 14 December 2022 (deadline 19 December 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it agrees with the Committee's recommendations on waste crime, listing most as "implemented" and giving target dates for others.
- On the Resources and Waste Strategy, the government agrees with the recommendation, while noting that "some delivery has been slower than originally planned"; it lists planned reforms including digital waste tracking and reform of the waste carriers, brokers and dealers' regime, both "planned for 2024".
- On landfill tax, the government agrees and says the Landfill Tax Review would consider the structure of the tax and "the impacts of any proposed changes to this on waste crime"; HMRC is to report on its approach to investigations, with a target date of December 2022.
- On sanctions, the government agrees and notes that the Sentencing Council is responsible for sentencing guidance and the courts make "independent decisions"; the department "intends to conduct new research" into enforcement of small scale fly-tipping, "anticipated to commence in early 2023".
- On the digital waste tracking contract, the government agrees; it is "anticipated that the contract will be let by the end of 2022" and the department "will write to inform the Committee" when this happens.