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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what penalties she plans to bring in for waste companies that persistently breach their operating licence.

The Government’s new Waste Crime Action Plan commits to making fuller use of existing Environment Agency (EA) powers so that high-risk waste sites can be stopped early before they escalate. Earlier EA interventions using Fixed Penalty Notices will deter those enabling waste crime. Permit suspensions and wider use of restriction notices will require operators to halt activity immediately where risks arise.

The Waste Crime Action Plan also includes action to reform the Carrier, Broker, Dealer regime. These reforms will move the regulation of waste management and transport from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will introduce tougher background checks for operators and up to 5 years imprisonment for those who break the law.