§ 45. Sir Anthony Grantasked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many convictions there were in each of the last three years for breaches of the Litter Act; what progress has been made by the committee chaired by Mr. Richard Branson; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThe number of convictions for breaches of the Litter Act, in the last three years for which figures are available, are given in the table.
Mr. Richard Branson's committee—UK2000—has no responsibility for enforcing the Litter Act, and action to tackle the problem of litter is only one of its concerns.
A report on the progress of UK2000 is given in my answer today to the hon. Member for Cynon Valley (Mrs. Clwyd).
Table Persons convicted under the Litter Acts
Year Number 1983 1,6841 1984 1,4272 1985 1,3552 1 Under Litter Acts 1958, 1971. 2 Under Litter Act 1983.
§ Mr. Favellasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will introduce legislation to increase the penalties for dropping litter; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WaldegraveNo. The maximum fine for littering is tied to the Home Office standard scale, which was increased to £400 in 1984. In 1985 the Government made it an arrestable offence for a person suspected of littering not to give his name and address to a policeman on request.
The Government believe that the long-term solution to the litter problem must lie primarily in persuading the public not to drop litter. To this end we give financial support to the Keep Britain Tidy Group, which campaigns continuously against littering, in collaboration with local authorities, voluntary groups, industry and commerce.