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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate his Department has made of the annual cost to the public purse of (a) waste crime and (b) illegal waste exports.

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

The Environmental Services Association (ESA) estimated in 2021 that waste crime costs the economy in England about £1 billion per year of which at least £42 million per year could be attributed to illegal waste exports. (see here: ESA_Cost_of_Waste_Crime.pdf.) The same report estimates that £499 million or 54% is borne by the public sector.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to strengthen the regulatory framework for waste (a) carriers, (b) brokers, and (c) dealers to reduce criminal activity in the sector.

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

The Government recently announced plans to tighten up the regulation of those who transport and manage waste services, moving them from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will give the Environment Agency a greater range of powers and more resources to be able to take action against those operating illegally. It will also introduce the possibility of up to 5 years imprisonment for those who breach these new laws.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of early years support for parents in disadvantaged areas.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

On 7 July 2025 the government published its Best Start in Life Strategy which sets out plans to ensure all young families can benefit from high quality family services and early years education and childcare, delivering our Plan for Change.

This includes national rollout of Best Start Family Hubs, bringing together the trusted advice and guidance all parents need in one place and linking families to their local services. Backed by £500 million investment these services will reach the children and families who will benefit most from this support, including those from lower-income families and with additional vulnerabilities.

From age 2, children from low-income families, those with education, health and care plans, and looked-after children are eligible for 15 hours of funded early education. Disadvantaged children may also receive the Early Years Pupil Premium, from April 2025 this was increased by 45%.

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Found: Democrat; Witney) Andrew Pakes (Labour; Peterborough) David Pinto-Duschinsky (Labour; Hendon) Gareth Snell

Found: hereditary peers in the House of Lords was “a clear affront to modern democracy”.26 Phil Brickell and Gareth Snell