Fly-tipping

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch Excerpts

Wednesday 8th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the noble Lord raises an interesting point on a bring-back scheme. That happens with some white goods, such as fridges or washing machines, when the company agrees to take back the old ones. The House must be aware that there have been 494,000 enforcement actions over the last year against fly-tipping. Also, we must not forget that, with regard to larger-scale fly-tipping, in the 2015 spending review a further £20 million was made available to fight waste crime.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister understand the anger felt by farmers that, because fly-tipping occurs on their private land, they are expected to pay their own clean-up costs, which can often total thousands of pounds? The NFU reports that dumping is happening on an industrial scale, with two-thirds of farmers affected, so can the noble Lord give some comfort to those farmers that meaningful action will be taken to address the problem of dumping on private land?

[The Earl of Courtown]

The noble Baroness brings our attention to the problem in rural areas, which is a real blight on our landscape. In many cases, it is more obvious in rural areas than in urban areas. The local authorities will provide advice and guidance on how to prevent further fly-tipping, or may investigate if there is sufficient evidence. The noble Baroness will also be aware of the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group, which is chaired by the Government and includes representatives from central and local government, enforcement authorities, the waste industry and private landowners. Under its framework, it is outlining the best practice for prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipping.