Emma Hardy MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  The Environment Agency is able to authorise mobile communications data and has the authority to use covert human intelligence sources, but if there is more that can be done, I urge my hon. Friend to write to the nature Minister with further details, and maybe even request a meeting with her.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  I congratulate my hon. Friend and her council on the work that they are doing to deal with illegal waste. On fly-tipping, there are all the measures that I mentioned in my response to the hon. Member for Epping Forest (Dr Hudson), and we have also made an announcement about crushing vehicles. We are carrying out a review of council powers to seize and crush the vehicles of fly-tippers. We want councils to work with the police and use the latest technology, such as drones, to help catch fly-tippers, and to crush more vehicles. I will provide guidance about what more we can do in the new year.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is right to be angry about the incidents that he is seeing in his constituency, and this is one of the reasons we have increased the Environment Agency funding for waste crime enforcement by 50%. Of course, we are always keen to work with all local authorities and to share best practice to ensure that all of them are going after these waste criminals.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. On sharing best practice, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is chairing the national fly-tipping prevention group. It includes representatives from a number of councils, the Environment Agency and the National Crime Agency. They share good practice, look at the practical tools for tackling fly-tipping, and hopefully encourage everybody to learn from the best.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  I am horrified to hear that such an appalling thing has happened in my hon. Friend’s constituency. He is right, and we should praise the legitimate waste businesses who do a proper job and work within the confines of the law. I reassure his residents that as well as increasing funding, we are looking at increasing the powers available to the Environment Agency and local authorities to ensure that we do not continue to see these appalling acts right across our country.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  We perhaps could call many things in here idiot campaigns, but let us not get diverted into discussing those. I pay full tribute to my hon. Friend’s local council for the work it is doing to tackle this hugely important issue, and full credit goes to him for raising it here.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady raises an important point. I am sorry to hear about the impact on a farm in her constituency. One of the most important reforms we can make is to the carrier, broker and dealer regime, to go from the current light-touch system to environmental permitting so that we can better track exactly when waste transfers from one place to another. That will mean tougher background checks for operators and tougher penalties for those who break the law.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman is right to mention the issue he is having in his constituency and, of course, the need for more powers. He also requests more funding, which is why I am sure he will be supporting our Budget next week.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  The Government are aware of the appalling case of illegal dumping in the hon. Member’s constituency, and I absolutely share his constituents’ anger. I, too, have seen the photographs and videos, and it is no wonder that he feels moved to bring forward this urgent question. There is a criminal investigation under way, and an Environment Agency restriction order has been served to prevent access to the site and further fly-tipping. The local resilience forum has been notified to explore opportunities for multi-agency support. I understand that the Minister with responsibility for nature, my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry East (Mary Creagh), has offered to meet the hon. Gentleman when she returns from COP, and I know that she is keen to fulfil that offer. I do not want to pre-empt the findings of the criminal investigation, but I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that the Environment Agency is working very closely with local partners, and that the offer of continuing the conversation outside the Chamber is there for him.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  I am so sorry to hear about the issue my hon. Friend raises. It is shocking that his constituents were unable to access the treatment they needed because of the appalling waste criminals. I assure him that we will go after the waste criminals with every power we have to ensure that they are brought to justice for all their crimes.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady raises an important and serious case; I know that the nature Minister has been having many meetings about it. It is the location of a live investigation, so I will not say too much about that, but the hon. Lady is quite right that lessons need to be learned and the criminals need to be brought to justice for the damage they have done. I am grateful to her for raising that matter. Of course, when there is any further information, she will be contacted with an update.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Lady is absolutely right. One of the ways to tackle this is to go after the criminals with all the legal powers we have. The legal powers we have in this particular case could include an unlimited fine.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  I point out to the hon. Gentleman that this Government increased funding for waste enforcement by the Environment Agency by 50%, after that funding had been frozen for years under the previous Government. Not only are we increasing the funding to the Environment Agency, but we are going much further. We are reforming the carrier, broker and dealer regime by moving waste management and transport from being subject to a light-touch system to coming under the environmental permitting regulations. We are reforming the rules for waste permit exemptions. We are using digital waste tracking, so we can see where the waste ends up. We are looking at extended producer responsibility for packaging, to reduce the amount of pollution and what needs to go into the waste system, and at reforms to ensure simpler recycling. My hon. Friend the nature Minister has, ever since being appointed, been working hard to deal with the legacy that she inherited of problems in the waste environment.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  Again, I share my hon. Friend’s upset and anger about the state in which waste criminals leave our countryside. We are taking forward many measures, but one that I think will be particularly important—the nature Minister was keen for me to mention it—is the digital waste tracking system. This will replace outdated methods of monitoring waste movements in and outside the UK. It will be an excellent way of digitally tracking where waste ends up. Waste holders will record waste movements digitally at each transfer point, making it easier to share with regulators and improve timely compliance checks. This is just one of the many reforms that we will introduce.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  Again, I share the hon. Lady’s anger about what is happening in our beautiful countryside; we see more and more evidence of illegal dumping. As I have mentioned, the Environment Agency’s total budget for 2025-26 has increased, and it includes £15.6 million for waste crime enforcement, which is a 50% increase. Overall, the Environment Agency has been able to increase its frontline criminal enforcement resource in the joint unit for waste crime and in environmental crime teams as well. It has a wide range of powers, but of course we are always keen to look at what further could be done.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend raises an important issue. I am sorry to hear that there will not be a prosecution. She might want to write to the nature Minister with more details and information, as perhaps we could look at that in more detail than we have.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There needs to be greater education on who we are giving our waste to. Digital waste tracking will make a big difference, because we will be able to see whether the waste ends up in the place where it is meant to end up.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  Fly-tipping is a serious crime. It blights local communities. It blights both our beautiful countryside and, as we have heard, our urban environments. Dealing with it costs taxpayers and businesses a huge amount of money. We are supporting councils to seize and crush the vehicles of fly-tippers, forcing fly-tippers to clear up their own mess and taking steps to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to help councils to make full and proper use of their enforcement powers.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  As I understand it, all waste incinerators are tightly permitted. If there are problems with permitting or if the right hon. Member believes that permits are being broken, I encourage him to contact the local Environment Agency office so that it can be urgently investigated.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend raises an important point. It is appalling to see in the pictures how the pollution is right next to the river, and it is very concerning. Obviously criminal investigations are ongoing, and work is happening on the ground. The Environment Agency is working closely with all local partners, but my hon. Friend is right that we need to make sure that this is joined up across all the different authorities. I can assure him that that is happening. I can also offer him a meeting so that he can get more detail on what is happening in this particular case.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  I urge the hon. Gentleman in the first instance to request a meeting with the local Environment Agency area director and to ask what further evidence is required to enable them to seek a prosecution. Of course, if he is not satisfied after having that meeting, he should write to the nature Minister.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  I absolutely agree that waste criminals should face the full force of the law and be punished and fined for their activities.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is quite right to highlight that there are legitimate companies out there, but there are also waste criminals. That is why the Environment Agency has launched its economic crime unit, which targets the financial motivation behind offending and uses financial mechanisms to inhibit the ability of offenders, including organised crime groups, to operate.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue. As I have mentioned, the national fly-tipping prevention group is sharing best practice through local authorities coming together to look at how we are tackling this issue across the country. Unfortunately, it is one that seems to be everywhere at the moment.

• 17 Nov 2025 · Illegal Waste: Organised Crime · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We have introduced a 50% increase in the Environment Agency’s total budget for waste crime enforcement, so that it has the powers and resources to go after the waste criminals who are ruining our countryside.