§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what action he is taking to ensure that waste is not illegally dumped; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the landfill tax on the illegal dumping of waste; [119242]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the danger to the public posed by illegally dumped waste. [119241]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Government have put strict controls in place to ensure that waste is disposed of without danger to the public. The Environment Agency is responsible for their enforcement. It is a criminal offence to contravene these controls and there are severe penalties for anyone convicted of doing so. We have asked the Environment Agency to continue a vigorous policy of prosecuting, where it has the evidence, anyone who illegally disposes of waste on sites which have neither a waste management licence nor a licensing exemption registered with the Agency.
We have also commissioned research into the effects of the landfill tax and a copy of the research report "Effects Of Landfill Tax—Reduced Disposal Of Inert Waste To Landfill" has been placed in the Library of the House. One of the aims of the research was to establish whether there is evidence of illegal waste disposal by abuse of licensing exemptions. The allegations of abuse centre on two of the current licensing exemptions and we are reviewing these exemptions in the light of the report's findings.