The Public Accounts Commitee (PAC) has concluded that progress by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in tackling waste crime has been “slow and piecemeal”.
The PAC examines the value for money of government projects, programmes and service delivery. Its aim is to hold government officials to account for the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of public spending.
Yesterday (Wednesday, October 19) it published its report Government actions to combat waste crime, which examined progress to-date on tackling waste crime and followed-up on government measures.
On top of being slow, the report said that Defra’s actions do not add up to a consistent delivery plan to take forward the aims of the Resources and Waste Strategy from 2018.
It said that there is currently no strategy or plan in place on how to achieve the target of eliminating waste crime by 2043.
“Another day, another policy headline with no plan or demonstrable progress towards achieving it, despite years of resources put in,” said Dame Meg Hillier MP, chair of the PAC.
“The result is property and countryside blighted by fly-tipping, toxic leaks into our soil, and tonnes of waste illegally exported by the UK to developing countries even less able to cope with its indefinite negative effects,” she continued.
“Targets become meaningless – rubbish, you might say – when there isn’t even a strategy for achieving them, much less any indication or measurement of progress.
“Sadly, all the signs four years into a 25-year target period are that the problem is getting worse.”
The report also found the current sanctions in place to be ineffective in deterring people from committing waste crime.
“With growing involvement of criminal gangs, adept at evading detection and who regard the fines if they are caught as merely a business expense, a much more serious approach to enforcement is required,” said Dame Hillier.
“Currently the Department’s approach to large parts of waste crime is closer to decriminalisation.”
The report also concludes that official data does not capture the true scale and impact of waste crime.
It is generally under-reported it said, so government and agency statistics do not capture the full impact it has on communities, businesses and the environment.
The report made a number of recommendations to tackle these points.
‘Farmers often the victims of waste crime’
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU), which provided a written response to the PAC inquiry on government actions to combat waste crime in June, welcomed to report.
“We are pleased that the Public Accounts Committee has listened carefully to our evidence, particularly around fly-tipping, and in its report supports our calls for better reporting and recording of the range of waste crime incidents, and the need for effective punishments that deter criminals dumping waste illegally,” said NFU vice-president David Exwood.
“Farmers are very often the victims of waste crime which is not only costly and time-consuming to remove, but can prove dangerous to human health, wildlife and livestock and in some cases pollute watercourses and contaminate land.
“It continues to take a huge toll financially on farming businesses and impacts on emotional and mental health and affects farmers’ ability to produce food and care for the environment.”
