Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many illegal waste sites are located within one kilometre of residential communities.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This data is not held centrally.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many illegal waste sites are located on green belt land.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This data is not held centrally.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many enforcement actions the Environment Agency has taken against illegal waste sites in each of the last five years.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Total number of actions dated within each calendar year for records relating to illegal waste sites.

Prosecution outcomes have been removed as these are provided separately in PQ 121091.

2021: 750

2022: 549

2023: 574

2024: 335

2025: 343

NB: This data is taken from a live system and maybe subject to change as investigation details are updated.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many prosecutions has the Environment Agency brought for operating illegal waste sites in each of the last five years.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Successful prosecutions associated with illegal waste sites investigations (where the court hearing date is in the requested timeframe and the verdict is guilty):

2021 – 42

2022 – 48

2023 – 47

2024 – 82

2025 – 68

This data is subject to change as cases reach conclusion and does not include records where a permit breach has been identified.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many enforcement notices for illegal waste operations are outstanding.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In the last 5 years (1 January 2021 – 31 December 2025) there have been 73 notices served under Section 59 and Section 34 of Environmental Protection Act 1990. A Section 59 notice requires the removal of unlawfully deposited waste, and a Section 34 notice requires a waste holder to produce records. Of those served, 8 are awaiting a compliance outcome and 61 have not been complied with.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many illegal waste site operators have received custodial sentences in each of the last five years.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the average financial penalty issued for waste crime was in the last five years.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Average fine for where the incident type was waste (regardless of whether related to an illegal waste site) and where the hearing date falls in the 2020 - 2025 range. This data also includes community orders:

2021 - £113,647.96

2022 - £3,268.00

2023 - £11,226.03

2024 - £8,993.22

2025 - £38, 535.30

This data is subject to change as cases reach conclusion.

N.B several large fines (e.g £1m, £200k) in 2021 are responsible for the significantly higher average compared to other years.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which local authority areas have the highest number of illegal waste sites currently under investigation by the Environment Agency.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This data is not available centrally to this level of detail.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many illegal waste sites have been identified in each region of England.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Total number of Illegal waste sites found per calendar year split by Environment Agency area:

NB: This data is taken from a live system and maybe subject to change as investigation details are updated.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the total volume of illegally stored or dumped waste currently present at illegal waste sites in the UK.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Total tonnage of waste on illegal waste sites that were operational on or after 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2025C (inclusive) and have not been brought into regulation or cleared of waste: 5,544,462.

NB: This data is taken from a live system and maybe subject to change as investigation details are updated.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many illegal waste sites were identified in the UK in each of the last five years.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Total number of illegal waste sites identified per calendar year:

2021: 583

2022: 504

2023: 565

2024: 892

2025: 823

NB: This data is taken from a live system and maybe subject to change as investigation details are updated.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the total number of illegal waste dumps currently operating in the UK.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Total number of illegal waste sites operating as of 17 March 2026: 537.

NB: This data is taken from a live system and maybe subject to change as investigation details are updated.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many 16 year olds study A-levels after GCSEs in each ward in Knowsley.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department publishes data on entry and attainment for students at the end of 16 to 18 study. For the 2024/25 academic year, the latest for which data is available, 79 students in schools or colleges in Knowsley were at the end of 16 to 18 study, of which 3 (3.8%) had entered A levels.

However, from Individualised Learned Record and School Census data, a further 2,416 students from Knowsley were undertaking A-level learning aims in this year.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of 16 year olds in Knowsley study A-levels after GCSEs.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department publishes data on entry and attainment for students at the end of 16 to 18 study. For the 2024/25 academic year, the latest for which data is available, 79 students in schools or colleges in Knowsley were at the end of 16 to 18 study, of which 3 (3.8%) had entered A levels.

However, from Individualised Learned Record and School Census data, a further 2,416 students from Knowsley were undertaking A-level learning aims in this year.

Found: Q4 Anneliese Midgley: Thank you, Baroness Hodge, for coming and speaking to us today.

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