The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Winning the war on fly-tippers
One of the less wellknown parts of the Westminster week is the Ten Minute Rule Bill. This does exactly what it says on the tin – gives a backbench MP ten minutes to introduce a proposed new law.
It’s one of the ways I can deliver change for the people of Peterborough. And it’s exactly what I did on Tuesday.
I moved my Disposal of Waste (Advertising and Penalty Provision) Bill in the chamber of the House of Commons.
It is all about tackling flytipping.
We need to toughen up the rules around the advertising of waste disposal services. And crucially – we need councils to enforce the penalties for fly tipping.
Enough is enough!
I want to clean up our city. Our inner-city areas, suburbs, or rural lanes are too often seen as dumping grounds.
This has got to stop. We’ve made some progress in recent years. Covert cameras have been deployed to catch those who fly-tip, and we have seen some successful prosecutions.
New laws passed by parliament increased the penalties that could be imposed on perpetrators. The Government has also banned charges for householders disposing of DIY household waste. I want to see the council go further and reintroduce free bulky waste collections.
Peterborough’s council taxpayers deserve nothing less than clean streets.
There’s more to be done, and my Bill will help ensure a zero-tolerance approach to flytipping.
One part of the fly-tipping problem comes from “organisations” who advertise legitimate-looking waste disposal services, then dump the waste illegally.
My Bill require the display of a valid waste transfer licence for all waste removal service advertisements upfront. This would further significantly limit the avenue for illegal operators. It would help people not unwittingly use an illegal operator and unintentionally contribute to the scourge of flytipping.
The second aspect of the Bill would make it mandatory for local authorities to issue fines in cases where the evidence for fly-tipping is clear.
Whilst there has been great progress in many areas, it is still far too hit and miss. At the moment, a zero-tolerance approach in one area simply means a large-scale criminal enterprise can move its operations on to a different area.
Only a consistent, national, approach to enforcement will put the fly-tippers out of business.
It's not often that a backbencher can get a new law passed.
But I was successful in my Ballot Secrecy Act, which now protects people’s right to a secret ballot in the polling booth.
My Local Government (Pay Accountability) Bill, which would require councillors to vote on officers on a salary of £100,000 has passed its second reading.
Now the Disposal of Waste (Advertising and Penalty Provision) Bill is due for its next debate on 17th May, and I will not rest until we have won the war on fly-tippers.