Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of illegal fly-tipping on agricultural activity.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The department does not intend to assess the potential impact of illegal fly-tipping on agricultural activity. The Government understands the difficulty that fly-tipping poses to all landowners. We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created and will provide further details on this in due course.
We continue to work with stakeholders, such as the National Farmers Union and local authorities, through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to share good practice, including how to prevent fly-tipping on private land. Various practical tools, including case studies and ‘how to’ guides on key issues such as setting up effective local partnerships, are available from their webpage at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on rural entrepreneurship.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of criminal sanctions for fly tipping.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess they have created. This will build on the sanctions already available which include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, seizing of vehicles and prosecution which can lead to a significant fine, a community sentence or even imprisonment. Sentencing is a matter for the independent courts. We do not intend to carry out any further assessment of criminal sanctions for fly tipping.
We encourage councils to make good use of their enforcement powers, and we are considering if further guidance is needed.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) merits of the mandatory displaying of waste licence numbers on advertisements for waste disposal and (b) impact of doing so on the level of illegal disposal of waste.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The current waste carriers, brokers and dealers regulatory regime is not fit for purpose, so I have asked officials to look at how we strengthen that regime to crack down on waste criminals. This includes consideration of the mandatory display of waste licence numbers on advertising. A full impact assessment would be conducted ahead of any legislative reform.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the risk of flooding in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Communities at risk of flooding in the Bromsgrove constituency include Hagley, Hollywood, and Bromsgrove itself. At present, there have been no reports to the Environment Agency of property flooding in this constituency during the recent wet weather.
The Environment Agency has been supporting Worcestershire County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority and Bromsgrove District Council, to establish flood risk management projects on the 2021-2026 Flood and Coastal Risk Management Investment Programme. Over £300,000 has been invested to date with a further £1.2 million planned to be invested under the new Government. The projects aim to better protect over 100 properties from flooding through Property Level Resilience interventions across Bromsgrove and Redditch Council areas.
The Environment Agency is engaging with the community at Hagley and Bromsgrove via flood action groups and responding to direct enquiries from residents.
A Flood Warning Service is available to over 900 homes and businesses at risk of flooding from main rivers in the constituency. The Environment Agency will continue to collaborate with partners towards raising awareness of flood risk in the area to support community resilience.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many successful prosecutions for (a) fly tipping and (b) environmental crime there were in 2024 in Bromsgrove constituency, by category.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Local authorities in England are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions, such as prosecutions, to Defra, which are published annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. This data isn't available at a constituency level and excludes the majority of private-land incidents.
Data for the 2023/24 reporting year will be published on 26 February 2025. Data for the 2024/25 reporting year is still being collected.
The Environment Agency investigates fly tipping where the waste is more than 20 tonnes, a specified amount of hazardous waste, or is suspected to be linked to organised.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help protect rural communities in Bromsgrove constituency from flooding.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Communities at risk of flooding in the Bromsgrove constituency include Hagley, Hollywood and Bromsgrove itself. At present, there have been no reports to the Environment Agency (EA) of property flooding in this constituency during the recent wet weather.
The EA has been supporting Worcestershire County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority and Bromsgrove District Council, to establish flood risk management projects on the 2021-2027 Flood and Coastal Risk Management Investment Programme. Over £300,000 has been invested to date with a further £600,000 planned to be invested over the next 3 years. The projects aim to better protect 155 properties from flooding by March 2027 through Property Level Resilience interventions across Bromsgrove and Redditch Council areas.
The EA are engaging with the community at Hagley and Bromsgrove via flood action groups and responding to direct enquiries from residents.
A Flood Warning Service is available to over 900 homes and businesses at risk of flooding from main rivers in the constituency. The EA will continue to work with partners towards raising awareness of flood risk in the area to support community resilience.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the Floods Resilience Task Force will work with stakeholders in Bromsgrove constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s new Floods Resilience Taskforce marks a new approach to preparing for flooding. It brings together a range of partners in national, regional and local Government, including the Environment Agency (EA), Devolved Administrations, selected Regional Mayors and Lead Local Flood Authorities. Membership of the Taskforce is flexed to meet the specific agenda and priorities but the Taskforce will also work with a wider range of flood risk partners as needed.
The EA has been supporting Bromsgrove District Council to deliver flood risk management projects which will increase protection for over 150 properties by 2027.
The EA has acted on local feedback to further improve the flood warning service on these watercourses, to help warn and inform constituents to take action to protect livelihoods and property.