Minister agrees to review sentencing for fly-tipping

Neil Parish MP said “fly tipping is not a victimless crime”
Neil Parish MP said “fly tipping is not a victimless crime”

The government will review sentencing for those found guilty of fly-tipping waste in the countryside after a parliamentary Committee explored the issue.

Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday (17 April), Environment Minister Therese Coffey defended the Government’s record.

She said: “Councils have over 20 powers to tackle fly-tipping... and we have introduced fixed penalty notices”.

However, she acknowledged that more could be done and committed to review the current punishments available for the crime.

The debate was led by Neil Parish MP, Chair of the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee.

He reminded the 25 MPs present that “fly tipping is not a victimless crime” and said that “the onus should not be on landowners and farmers” who are innocent and yet face a legal obligation to deal with waste on private land.

Mr Parish quoted from several people who had contacted him ahead of the debate with examples of their experiences of fly-tipping and the problems this causes.

Shadow Farming Minister David Drew MP described fly-tipping as "big business in the criminal underworld".

'Blight'

The Countryside Alliance, which has campaigned on fly-tipping for years, said it welcomes the commitment to review the current punishments.

However, the rural organisation said there are concerns that if stronger action is not taken then the countryside will continue to see fly-tipping increasing every year.

Countryside Alliance Head of Policy, Sarah Lee, commented: "We must all work harder to fight this blight. Farmers and landowners must report any suspicious activity and put in place prevention measures to make it more difficult for people to fly-tip on their land.

"But this must be backed up by local authorities using the full force of the law against those who fly-tip and strengthened where appropriate."