Defra’s fly-tipping statistics for England in 2023-24, published yesterday (Wednesday 26 February), showed a 6% rise in dumping incidents handled by local authorities over the previous year. Fixed penalty notices issued on behalf of those same councils fell by 5%, and court fines also fell by 8%. The commonest enforcement action remains a mere investigation.
These figures are a disaster. Last year, we welcomed a slight fall in the number of fly-tips and rise in enforcements with cautious optimism; this proved slightly premature as the following month the figures had to be revised unfavourably after it was found that eight councils had reported their data incorrectly. The trends, nevertheless, remained positive. Not so this year.
No comfort for rural communities can be found in the statistical breakdown. Behind highways (pavements and roads), where fly-tipping incidents marginally fell, the second commonest dumping spot is the footpaths and bridleways most commonly found in the countryside. There, recorded dumpings increased to 218,000 by a bleak 20%.
Defra’s figures only cover fly-tipping incidents recorded by local authorities, meaning those that took place on land they control. As the release says in terms, “[i]t excludes the large-scale incidents dealt with by the Environment Agency and the majority of private-land incidents.” There is no reason to believe fly-tippers are distinguishing between council and private land, so a demonstrable trend in one category is highly likely to be reflected in the other. Farmers and other rural businesses with notable landholdings continue to be victimised.
On enforcement, meanwhile, the number of fixed penalty notices issued in response to local authority incidents fell by 5% to 63,000. For cases taken through to court, although the average fine rose slightly to £530 (a rise of £4), the number actually levied also decreased, by 8% to only 1,378.
These figures reveal the stark reality that while the previous government’s move to increase the maximum fine for fly-tipping was welcome, the level of fine that might be issued ultimately matters very little if in practice it is not. The current government appears to recognise this, with Defra Secretary Steve Reed telling the Daily Mail:
“This Government will crack down on fly tipping and punish rubbish dumpers, forcing them to clean up their mess.
Through the new Crime and Policing Bill we will also give ministers the power to issue statutory guidance to councils to drive up fly-tipping enforcement.”
Calls for ever-higher fines are predictable and comforting, but Mr Reed is right to focus on enforcement and we hope that the measures he proposes will prove effective. Local authorities must not only investigate more incidents but also pursue those investigations competently enough that they can be guided through to a successful prosecution or penalty.
We will have more detail about the wider experience of fly-tipping in rural communities when we publish the results of our latest National Rural Crime Survey next month, but we can reveal that fly-tipping was the most reported crime. We will continue to hold both local authorities and the central government to account.