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 take steps to increase the penalties for people who are successfully prosecuted for fly tipping.

While the law already allows for an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment, sentencing is a matter for the independent courts. Together with the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group, we have produced a guide on how local authorities, and others, can present robust cases to court to support sentences that properly reflect the severity of fly tipping. This is available at https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group. Our recent fly-tipping statistics for 2022/23 showed that the average court fine increased by over 10%.

We will continue to explore other options, such as increasing magistrates’ awareness of the impact of fly-tipping.