Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
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)
Advice and guidance or warning letters are the most common responses for most types of waste crime, and we pushed the witnesses on whether they were using the right balance of enforcement actions.77 The Agency described how it takes a proportionate, risk-based and outcome-focused approach, and that providing advice and guidance is the default response. We were told most people respond well to advice and guidance, but if that does not work, the Agency has an escalating series of civil sanctions.78 However, SUEZ argued that greater focus should be placed on tackling waste crime at all levels, telling us that small-scale activities may lead to more severe criminal activities in the future if not dealt with effectively.79 We heard that there are thousands of waste companies, most of which are legitimate but a lot operate on the edge of economic viability. The Agency described how it does not want to tip legitimate companies into insolvency, so will always try to keep them operational and bring them back into compliance. If a company does go bankrupt or disappear, it leads to a host of other problems, including the landowner, who may be an innocent third party, becoming liable for the waste.80 Getting a grip on illegal export of waste
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.