Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Melanie Onn and Emma Hardy

Thursday 22nd October 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Emma Hardy)]

Fly-tipping is unacceptable. It blights communities, harms the environment and imposes significant costs on taxpayers and businesses. Those responsible should be cleaning it up and paying for it. That is why we have strengthened the powers and penalties available to councils, to ensure that vandals face real consequences, and we are consulting on making them clean up their own mess.

[Melanie Onn]

I thank the Minister for that response. Fly-tipping is a real scourge for my Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes constituents. Whether it is in alleyways or local beauty spots, it is so disappointing, especially when so many members of the community are involved in doing community clean-ups. As the Minister said, the Government have done a huge amount of work, increasing fines to £5,000 and giving powers to scrap vehicles once they are seized, but those powers are only effective if they are used. Will she join me in urging my Reform-led North East Lincolnshire council to make greater use of these enforcement powers?

[Emma Hardy]

My hon. Friend is right to raise that. Her constituents are, understandably, frustrated, and I share her confusion as to why her council does not want to use the powers it has been given to fine fly-tippers, seize their vans and prosecute them. I join her in urging her council to do the job it has been elected to do, and I hope her residents remember this lack of action when it comes to the next election.

--- Later in debate ---

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

T6. Staff at the Sewing Shop in Grimsby are keen to see the rapid introduction of the deposit return scheme, so when can we anticipate seeing it, and will the Minister make sure that retailers do not derail that initiative?

[Emma Hardy]

Many of our older constituents, including my mum, remember returning bottles to the recycling bank and receiving money for them; it made sense then, and it makes sense now. Significant progress has been made on the deposit return scheme, but there is still lots of work to do.