Government accused of ‘effectively legalising’ fly-tipping

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey was last night accused of ‘effectively legalising’ fly-tipping after analysis found fewer than one in 500 incidents last year led to a prosecution.

Authorities successfully pursued culprits in just under 2,000 of the 1.1million fly-tipping incidents across England – meaning just 0.18 per cent of cases led to a prosecution.

Offenders avoided prosecution at the highest rate in London, where just 0.05 per cent of the 406,000 cases resulted in the local authorities prosecuting the criminal.

The figures, obtained by the Liberal Democrats, also showed only 1,798 fines were issued by courts for fly-tipping incidents last year, with a total value of £837,000 – an average of 77p per total incident.

The party’s environment spokesman Tim Farron said: ‘The lack of action on this issue from the Government sends out the message that they do not take it seriously enough. 

Figures, obtained by the Liberal Democrats, showed only 1,798 fines were issued by courts for fly-tipping incidents last year, with a total value of £837,000 – an average of 77p per total incident

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey was last night accused of ‘effectively legalising’ fly-tipping after analysis found fewer than one in 500 incidents last year led to a prosecution

Authorities successfully pursued culprits in just under 2,000 of the 1.1million fly-tipping incidents across England – meaning just 0.18 per cent of cases led to a prosecution (pictured: fly-tipping in Wexham, Buckinghamshire, on March 26, 2023)

Offenders avoided prosecution at the highest rate in London, where just 0.05 per cent of the 406,000 cases resulted in the local authorities prosecuting the criminal (pictured: fly-tipping in Wexham, Buckinghamshire, on March 26, 2023)

‘They have effectively legalised littering through their inaction.’

But sources at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said 507,000 ‘enforcement actions’ were taken last year, meaning around half of the fly-tipping incidents were dealt with in some form.

They also pointed to the 91,000 fixed penalty notices issued in 2021/22 worth up to £400 each in addition to the separate fines, and said the 77p figure was wrong.

Convicted fly-tippers can face unlimited fines or be sent to prison for up to five years.