Consultation on the draft Control of Waste (Dealing with Seized Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015

Overview

This consultation invites views on proposals for new Regulations on the seizure of vehicles in relation to offences concerning waste. The aim of the draft Control of Waste (Dealing with Seized Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 (the draft Regulations) is to help the Governments in England and Wales reduce illegal waste activity, including fly-tipping, by giving enforcement authorities (local authorities, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales) more effective tools to use in the investigation and prosecution of suspected offences.

The Government is seeking views on the proposed approach to seizure of vehicles and invites comments on its assessment of the likely costs and benefits. Further details on what is being proposed are included in the draft Regulations.

Why your views matter

In April 2011 the Government launched the Red Tape Challenge, an initiative to review and remove unnecessary regulation which potentially restricts business growth. The Red Tape Challenge stated that the existing powers for enforcement authorities to seize vehicles suspected of involvement in fly-tipping and waste crime should be strengthened to reduce the burden of this criminal activity on businesses, other organisations and individuals.

In response to the Red Tape Challenge, the Government is seeking views on proposals to commence powers to help enforcement authorities to disrupt and prevent illegal waste activities more effectively than at present, reducing the impact of waste crime on the environment, while helping to bring about a level playing field for the legitimate waste industry and encouraging growth through investment. 

What happens next

A summary of the responses to this consultation will be published and placed on the Government websites at www.gov.uk/defra and www.wales.gov.uk.

This summary will include a list of names and organisations that responded but not personal names, addresses or other contact details.

If you do not want your response - including your name, contact details and any other personal information - to be publicly available, please say so clearly in writing when you send your response to the consultation. Please note, if your computer automatically includes a confidentiality disclaimer, that won’t count as a confidentiality request. 

Please explain why you need to keep details confidential. We will take your reasons into account if someone asks for this information under freedom of information legislation. But, because of the law, we cannot promise that we will always be able to keep those details confidential.