§ Sue DoughtyTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to her answer of 11 March 2004,Official Report, column 1621W, on hazardous waste, if she will make a statement on the (a) detection and (b) prosecution rates she expects the Environment Agency to achieve. [165295]
§ Mr. MorleyIt is not possible to predict detection and prosecution rates for hazardous waste. However, Environment Agency data for prosecutions brought relating to illegal waste activity as a whole is available for the years 1999–2003 as follows:
Year (financial) Number of prosecutions 1999–2000 366 2000–01 446 2001–02 484 2002–03 511 The Environment Agency takes enforcement action against incidents and breaches of permit conditions in accordance with its enforcement and prosecution policies.