Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, has urged Labour to provide clarity on its fly-tipping strategy following noncommittal responses from Government Ministers.
Having received lacklustre responses to his Parliamentary Questions on the scourge of fly-tipping, Dr Hudson has written to the responsible Minister calling for Labour to publish details of its manifesto commitment on the issue, compose a formal strategy on fly-tipping and make an assessment of its relevant policies.
While the previous Conservative took strong action on fly-tipping by increasing on-the-spot fines, investing in local councils and creating grant funding for new campaigns and technologies which resulted in fly-tipping reducing year-on-year since 2020, sadly incidents still remain high with more than 1 million cases every year.
As such, Dr Hudson has been a key campaigner on the issue. Last year, Dr Hudson welcomed that on-the-spot fines were raised to £1,000, building on the £1.2 worth of grant funding to help more than 30 councils implement projects cracking down on fly-tipping. And subsequently, this year, he expressed delight that 26 councils received a share of almost £1 million to protect communities from the scourge of fly-tipping.
This is, in part, informed by local concerns in Epping Forest where police forces conducted Operation Eagle to crack down on the crime.
Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest, said:
"Fly-tipping is a blight on society and those that commit this grim crime are not just littering but attacking our communities, our nature and our precious environment.
"I've heard a great deal from people here in Epping Forest about how much of a worry it is for them, and particularly for the invaluable ancient woodland from which our constituency gets its name. They are clear and I am too that we must crack down on the scourge of fly-tipping.
"Therefore, I was shocked to receive such noncommittal answers from Ministers and the lack of clarity this new Labour Government has provided on their pledges. In order to maintain public trust in our political system, I am urging Ministers to follow through on their pledges and provide an up-to-date strategy on how they plan to deal with fly-tipping or risk retrograde steps for communities up and down the land."
Written Parliamentary Questions:
Dr Neil Hudson MP tabled the Written Question 9074:
"To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle fly-tipping in (a) rural, (b) semi-rural and (c) urban communities."
Mary Creagh, Minister for Nature, replied:
"Fly-tipping is a serious crime which blights communities and the environment and dealing with it imposes significant costs on both taxpayers and businesses. In our manifesto we committed to forcing fly-tippers and vandals to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment, and other actions to tackle fly-tipping, in due course.
"In the meantime, Defra will continue to chair the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with a wide range of stakeholders such as local authorities, the Environment Agency and National Farmers Union, to promote good practice with regards to tackling fly-tipping, including on private land."
In addition, Dr Neil Hudson MP tabled the Written Question 9075:
"To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for his policies of the level of fly-tipping in Epping Forest constituency."
Mary Creagh, Minister for Nature, replied:
"The department has not yet made any formal assessment of the implications of its fly-tipping policies. Local authorities are required to report fly-tipping incidents and enforcement actions to Defra, which the department publishes annually, at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/env24-fly-tipping-incidents-and-actions-taken-in-england.
This data isn't available at a constituency level and excludes the majority of private-land incidents."
