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

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of (1) theft from farms and (2) flytipping in each of the last three years, and what steps they are taking to reduce these.

Data on overall levels of farming theft has been collected by stakeholders. In 2023, National Farmers Union Mutual estimated the cost of specific crimes that victimise famers:

• GPS theft: £4.2 million
• Quad bike/All-Terrain vehicle theft: £3.2 million
• Agricultural vehicle theft: £10.7 million

We recognise the importance of tackling rural crime and are committed to safeguarding rural communities. The Home Office and Defra are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver the updated Rural and Wildlife Crime Strategy.

The Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 requires secondary legislation before it can come into effect. We are currently considering the views of those who may be affected by the legislation and its regulations, to understand the potential implications and determine the scope of the legislation. We will publish the Government’s response to the Call for Evidence on the scope of the legislation soon and intend to have the necessary regulations in place later this year.

Local authorities are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which we publish annually at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fly-tipping-in-england. This excludes the majority of private-land incidents.

Local authorities have enforcement powers to help them tackle fly-tipping, including fixed penalty notices and prosecution action which can lead to a significant fine or imprisonment. We intend to seek powers in the Crime and Policing Bill to enable the Secretary of State to issue statutory enforcement guidance to support local authorities to appropriately and consistently exercise their enforcement powers.

We have committed in our manifesto to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up their mess. We will provide an update on this in due course.

We will continue to work with stakeholders through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group, such as the National Farmers Union, local authorities and police, to promote and disseminate good practice on tackling fly-tipping.