The Conservatives have announced plans for fly-tippers to receive points on their driving licences ahead of the General Election on 4 July.
Last year, as part of the government’s strategy to tackle anti-social behaviour, the Prime Minister raised the upper limit on fines for fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000.
The new plans could also see low-level fly-tipping offenders be hit with points on their driving licence.
Rishi Sunak said the Conservatives are the only party with “a clear plan to ensure safety, security and prosperity in your local community”.
The number of fixed penalty notices issued was 69,000 in 2022/23, a decrease of 25% from 91,000 in 2021/22. The Lib Dems accused the Tories of “legalising littering”.
Labour accused the Conservatives of “empty words” and said local authorities in England handled 1.08 million fly-tipping incidents “on the Conservatives’ watch” in the last year.
The statistics from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs show the average court fine for fly-tipping increased from £466 in 2021/22 to £526 in 2022/23.
While the total number of court fines decreased by 17% from 1,798 in 2021/22 to 1,491 in 2022/23, with the combined value of these fines decreasing by 6% from £837,000 to £785,000.
If politicians want more action on fly-tipping, adequate resources must be made available to councils and regulators to support this.
As part of the government’s anti-social behaviour plan, Sunak announced last year that victims and affected communities of anti-social behaviour will get a say in deciding what type of punishment or consequences offenders should face, alongside input from local police and crime commissioners.
The government has also begun publishing league tables for local authorities based on their fly-tipping performance.
Earlier this year, Recycling Minister Robbie Moore called on local authorities to hand out more fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to fly-tippers.
During a parliamentary debate, Moore also said he was disappointed some local authorities are considering closing their household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs).
Lee Marshall, CIWM Policy and External Affairs Director, FCIWM MILM, said CIWM was disappointed by some of the comments in the parliamentary debate.
Reacting to the debate, he said: “Councils are under immense financial pressures and already do a lot to tackle littering and fly-tipping with the limited resources they have available.
“There is no evidence to support the claim that there is a link between HWRC availability and fly-tipping and, while we need a robust network of HWRCs across the UK, if the funds are not made available, councils have to manage their networks in line with their individual circumstances.
“If politicians want more action on fly-tipping, adequate resources must be made available to councils and regulators to support this.”
