That this House has considered waste crime in Staffordshire.
It is a pleasure to speak in my first Westminster Hall debate as the Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme. I am delighted to see you in the Chair, Mr Vickers, to share this special moment with me. Yesterday my dad had some serious surgery, and I want to start by thanking the NHS staff who looked after him and thousands of other cancer patients like him in Newcastle-under-Lyme and across our country. I welcome the Minister to her place. She is going to hear a lot from me in the weeks and months ahead, just as she and the Secretary of State have since the election.
The debate is focused on and around waste crime in Staffordshire, so I will touch on that and then focus on the disgraceful situation of Walleys Quarry landfill in my constituency. The true scale of waste crime is by its nature difficult to quantify. Those who are actively involved in waste crime normally seek to evade detection and leave the rest of us to pay the price.
In July 2023, the Environment Agency found that approximately 18% of all waste is illegally managed, equating to 34 million tonnes. As others will know, that is enough waste to fill Wembley stadium 30 times over. My view is simple: we cannot allow these criminals—because that is what someone is when they commit a crime—to get away, enrich themselves and ignore the law any longer.
The previous Government’s resources and waste strategy defines waste crime as
“anything that intentionally breaks the law relating to the handling and disposal of waste.”
Waste crime can be motivated by landfill tax evasion, and generally covers activities including illegal exports of waste, large-scale fly-tipping, illegal burning of waste, illegal operation of waste sites, non-compliance with the waste duty of care, the misclassifying of waste, and falsifying records. I hope the Minister in her response will set out whether she agrees with that definition, whether it is fit for purpose and whether she will look to update the resources and waste strategy.
The Environment Agency’s national waste crime survey 2023 report stated that waste crime cost the economy in England—or rather, cost my constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and people in the county of Staffordshire and across England—an estimated £1 billion per year through evaded tax, environmental and social harm, and loss to legitimate business. That represents a 55% increase since 2015 and an estimated extra £604 million a year. I know the Minister will share my anger at the current situation, and I look forward to her setting out what we will do as a Government to get a grip of the situation.
There is a relatively long list of offences that constitute a waste crime, and I urge colleagues to have a look. I had originally planned to read them out, but it was a full side of A4 and I did not want to detain the House any longer than necessary. We have a long list of offences, but waste crime continues to blight communities at pace.
I thank my hon. Friend for securing such an important debate. Last year the Environment Agency released its national waste crime survey results for 2023, which found that 86% of farmers surveyed were affected by fly-tipping. In my Tamworth constituency, residents have raised frustrations about the damage it causes to the countryside and the harm it can cause to nature. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need more collaboration between land managers, local authorities, police and the Environment Agency to better protect farmers against fly-tipping, which for many of our constituencies is a prolific example of rural crime?
My hon. Friend rightly speaks of the importance of cross-agency working to get those issues addressed. I represent a number of farmers in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and I know that my farmers will share her farmers’ concerns. I thank her for raising that point. We all have examples of waste crimes that have taken place, yet there are plenty of examples where there is no enforcement or prosecution. Has the Minister assessed the adequacy of the long list of offences, and if so, is she happy with them? If she is not, what is the plan to ensure that we get that right?
The impacts of waste crime are widespread, with adverse effects on our constituents, businesses, public services, the environment and the economy. For example, illegal waste sites can pollute the environment through the release of noise, dust, surface or groundwater contamination, or through unauthorised fires and burning. This applies to Walleys Quarry, formerly Red Industries RM Ltd, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, both in terms of dangerous and unacceptable levels of hydrogen sulphide being pumped into my community and of the fire that took place on the evening of 4 August 2024. Sites such as Walleys and other relevant landfills are unlikely to treat the waste in compliance with environmental best practice. Those companies divert waste from legitimate businesses, reducing their potential income streams, viability and competitive advantage. The cost of ameliorating fly- tipped waste falls to public services and our constituents.
I am grateful to Keep Britain Tidy for its helpful briefing ahead of this debate—I suspect that colleagues who are here would have enjoyed that briefing, too. I acknowledge all the work that Keep Britain Tidy does to reclaim our green spaces, to clean our streets and roads and to keep our communities safe and clean.
I thank my hon. Friend for initiating such an important debate on this most pressing issue. Does he agree with me that voluntary organisations such as those in my constituency, Burntwood Litter Heroes and Lichfield Litter Legends, really deserve the support and respect of their Members for all the work they do to keep our communities tidy, alongside the work of Keep Britain Tidy?
I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. I, too, pay tribute to the organisations in his constituency that do so much important work. I very much like the alliteration of Lichfield Litter Legends, so he can pass our collective best wishes on to them.
Fly-tipping is the top environmental challenge faced by many communities, not least in Staffordshire, as we have heard from my hon. Friends the Members for Lichfield (Dave Robertson) and for Tamworth (Sarah Edwards)—neighbours, in fact. Despite resources going into tackling fly-tipping—education, monitoring, enforcement and removal—incidents of fly-tipping continue to increase. The education point for real people in the real world, as opposed to rich criminals in the waste crime world, is so important. This must be about pride—pride in our communities, in our homes, towns and villages—and this new Government, our Government, must lead by example and help to restore that.
In a previous life, I worked for the then shadow Minister for waste crime, my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones). She often raised in debates—I know, because I wrote many of the speeches—the high levels of recycling in Wales, so what discussions has the Minister had with the Welsh Government about best practice, and what lessons can we learn from the Labour Government in Wales? I see that my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Kanishka Narayan) is here.
This issue is of particular concern to residents on The Paddocks in Cross Heath in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and I am working with Councillor John Williams and Councillor Gill Williams on how we can hold the borough and county councils to account. Fly-tipping is also an issue for many residents in Bradwell. I thank one particular resident, Jane Rushton, for her tenacity and her commitment to keeping her community clean and free of fly-tips— I was at her house quite recently; she makes a very good cheese sandwich and an even better date loaf. I know that she is working with Councillor Andrew Fox-Hewitt, Councillor Lesley Richards and Councillor Annabel Lawley to do just that.
It is an honour to be here to support the hon. Gentleman; he and I were friends long before he became an MP. I support his actions on behalf of his constituents, with those who are present today. Does he not agree that the complexity of addressing waste crime means that, in situations in his constituency and other parts of the United Kingdom—including my own—urgent action is difficult? We need new legislation and punitive fines that will hit offenders hard. What must be central is that the hon. Gentleman’s constituents and their opinions are key to any change. We must ensure that their viewpoints are not forgotten.
You never forget your first time with the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon)—there we are. My wife is indeed from Northern Ireland—but we will stop that one there. I am, however, grateful to him for his intervention, because he makes an interesting point. Lots of people in my constituency were told that everything had been done within the law, so the simple response for me is: let us change the law. The Minister already knows some of my thoughts on that. Although we have a very busy legislative programme following the election, it is something I will push strongly and proactively.
My remarks to the inquiry continued:
“The investigation into the fire concluded that it was most likely caused by a lithium battery, but two things on this, Chair—no battery was found, which raises some very serious questions and Walleys’ permit doesn’t allow for lithium batteries to be disposed of.
My call is simple—we need the site closed, capped and restored. And we need that done now. I have made that point to anyone who will listen and will keep doing so.
Today, I am here as the Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme, and I am here to give voice to all the people who have raised this issue with me directly over the last couple of years.
We now need the Environment Agency to honour its responsibility to the people who live, learn and work here.
Simply put, Chair”—
that chair is in the Public Gallery, Councillor Bettley-Smith—
“enough is enough.
I look forward to answering your questions.”
I acknowledge the work of the cross-party committee leading the inquiry, and I welcome the invitation to speak before it, because I wanted Newcastle’s MP in the room helping to shape the way forward and delivering the results that local people want and desperately need. The stress, concern and fear about hydrogen sulphide emissions coming from the site cannot be overestimated. It is having a real impact on people’s lives and has done for many years now. There have been more than 100 breaches of the permit held by Walleys. Mr Vickers, imagine a citizen breaking an agreement, breaking the law or getting caught speeding more than 100 times? Imagine if there had been more than 100 parties in Downing Street. There must be real penalties and real enforcement.
My constituency of Stoke-on-Trent South adjoins my hon. Friend’s, and the smell from Walleys Quarry has extended into the Northwood region of my constituency, which itself has experienced repeated fly-tipping that has caused harm to farmers. I want to reiterate the impact Walleys Quarry has had in Newcastle-under-Lyme and further afield on the quality of residents’ day-to-day lives and, crucially, their health, especially that of young children. There is also the impact on the saleability of homes, which means that residents are stuck and cannot move on. That cannot carry on.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. The fact that my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell) is sitting next to her speaks to the collective experience and frustration that we feel in north Staffordshire. I am grateful not only for their support in the fight to get this problem sorted, but for the support of constituents in Stoke-on-Trent South for mine. I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention.
People have been let down by the Environment Agency, the last Government and those who could help us get this sorted. However, I would like to acknowledge the tireless and passionate work of local councillors in our community.
Can the Minister let us know what assessment she has made of the work of the joint unit for waste crime? I know we are in the early days of the new Government, but we need to see and know that these agencies are being held accountable and have the powers required to get things done.
Talking of agencies, let me turn to the Environment Agency. My view is simple: it is simply not fit for purpose. Its responsibilities are far too wide and, in our case, people locally have lost faith in its ability to stand up for us against landfill operators who act like cowboys and who have no regard for the health and wellbeing of their neighbours. I base that on what has happened in my constituency with Walleys Quarry, the land at Doddlespool and Elms Farm and what might well happen at the Bradwell West Quarry.
With all the criminal activity that seemingly, and indeed knowingly in some cases, takes place—or that seems to surround certain elements of the waste industry—something is wrong. Under the Conservative Government, we had a perfect storm: major cuts to local government, savage cuts to the Environment Agency’s staff and budget, and an apparent disregard for how serious waste crime is. That must change. Although I acknowledge that we inherited a financial crisis, we can and should use the law to give my constituents the clean air and healthy lungs they need and deserve.
Given the difficult economic situation the country is in, does my right hon. Friend agree that although cost and finances are an important consideration, we must be careful of false economies? Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major issue in areas such as Newcastle-under-Lyme and Stoke-on-Trent South, and the impact of poor air quality on the NHS can be expensive, so actions to address air quality and waste can save money in the long run in terms of health. [Interruption.]
I am winding up my remarks, Mr Vickers. My hon. Friend makes a really important point: a healthy workforce is an active workforce, and an active workforce will contribute to the growth that the Government seek to bring to communities such as mine and hers, and to those up and down the country, including Keighley. We need to tackle toxic air pollution—we need clean air—so I thank her for making that point. I also thank her for promoting me to right hon.—I did not get that through the Whips.
I was told that it would cost too much for me to see the correspondence between those three bodies and the Department, so I say to the Minister: I am happy to come to the Department any day, any time to look at anyone’s computer. We need to shine a light on the collective failures that have got us into this mess—not the Minister’s failures, but the failures we now have to clean up. My constituents deserve to know, and I need to know. The Minister knows I will not rest until we see a closure notice, and I hope that the Environment Agency is listening to me today. I call on it to share its correspondence with the county council and the borough council with me too.
Walleys Quarry Ltd has written to me several times asking to meet, and it is important to put that on the record. However, it is also important to put on the record that if it had turned up to the cross-party public inquiry at the council, we could have met there. Walleys Quarry could have taken part in an evidence-based democratic process with clear transparency for my constituents.
We are now looking to fill a £20 billion black hole in the national finances, so what discussions are taking place across Government to make sure that landfill operators pay their fair share? I urge her to raise the issue of landfill tax levels with the Treasury. I know that increasing the tax on landfill operators would go down very well in my constituency.
I remind Members that they should bob if they wish to speak in the debate.
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The Environmental Services Association—the trade body representing the UK’s resource and waste management industry—published back in 2021 a report entitled “Counting the cost of UK Waste Crime”, and these figures are relevant to now. It broke down the estimated financial impact of waste crime in England from 2018 to 2019 as follows: fly-tipping cost £392 million, illegal waste sites £236 million, misclassification £120 million, exemption breaches £87 million, illegal exports £42 million and waste fires £22 million. That was then and this is now. They are extraordinary sums, so can the Minister let us know what assessment has been made of the financial impact of waste crime in the last year, 2022-23? I suspect that she will have to write to me; I do not expect her to have all those figures now, but I will appreciate a written response.
Back in January 2018, the last Conservative Government published their 25-year environment plan, which set an ambition to eliminate waste crime and illegal waste sites over the lifetime of the plan, so by 2043. There is no evidence of that in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and while I urge the Minister to commit to eliminating waste crime and illegal waste sites, I urge her to give us deeds and not just words. Can she confirm that the Government will update the 25-year environment plan to make it fit for purpose?
In 2018, the Environment Agency was given new powers to tackle the problem of illegal waste sites. That included the power to lock up sites, to block access to them and to require rogue operators to clean up their actions, so I ask the Minister the following questions: how many illegal waste sites have been locked up since 2018? How many illegal waste sites have had access to them blocked? What does the requirement on rogue operators actually look like?
Turning to the disgraceful story of Walleys Quarry, I pay tribute to every local who has expressed their concern and tried to fight for the clean air and safe environment that everyone in our country and our constituencies deserves. I thank all who have campaigned to “stop the stink”. I first met Dr Scott, a GP in Silverdale, back in 2021. The situation facing local people has only got worse since then, when he made the health impacts clear, as he did last month at the public inquiry that the council held. I also acknowledge Dr Mick Salt for his tireless commitment and sheer tenacity—the theme here is that there are tenacious people aplenty in Newcastle-under-Lyme—and every local person who cares about getting the issue resolved.
I am pleased to welcome two of my constituents, Sheelagh and John, who made it down from Newcastle-under-Lyme to be in the Public Gallery for this debate. We are also joined by the deputy mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme—the shadow Minister will be pleased to know that Councillor Robert Bettley-Smith is a Conservative —and Councillor Jacqueline Brown, a good friend of mine and an excellent Labour councillor in Silverdale.
Finding a way through on Walleys cannot be party political. For too long, the previous Conservative Government refused to engage meaningfully with the Labour Opposition— I know, because I worked for the shadow Minister at the time. For too long, in the council chamber at Castle House in Newcastle-under-Lyme, good ideas tabled by Labour councillors were voted down by the Tories purely because they were Labour ideas. That is no way for us to deliver for the people who sent me here. I welcome both members of the council to this debate, and I appreciate their support for my efforts to get the blight that is Walleys closed, capped, and safely and securely restored.
That will not be easy—if it were, surely to God it would have happened already. My constituents have had enough. They want to know what actually has to happen for action to be taken. How bad do things have to get? How many people need to be stuck in their homes, unable to open their windows, sit in their gardens or breathe without inhaling toxic fumes? They want to know why Newcastle feels like a dumping ground for other people’s waste. They want to see real action from those with enforcement powers to clean their air, to hold the operators to account and finally to rid our town of the disgusting, disgraceful and toxic levels of hydrogen sulphide.
My first words in the House after taking my oath were on Walleys. I promised local people that I would hit the ground running and that I would champion their determination for clean air and healthier lungs, heads and hearts. I have tried to do exactly that.
In August, Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council held a two-day public inquiry into Walleys Quarry. I share my opening remarks with the House. These words were said on behalf of those who live, learn and work in my constituency:
“Like so many of the people who live, learn and work in Newcastle-under-Lyme, I am angry—angry that nothing has changed, angry by the failures of the Environment Agency to give local people what they need—which is action not words.
I have been the MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme for almost 6 weeks”—
or had been then—
“and there isn’t a day that this disgraceful situation isn’t raised with me. I will work every day to get justice for local people and give us the chance to finally move on.
Just this morning, I was with local businesses and heard the impact and pressures they face.
Over the last week, I have heard from many local people terrified by the fire that took place on Sunday 4th August.
And I note that we still wait”—
or at least we did then—
“for the results of the fire investigation—we need to know what happened, why it happened and what lessons will be learned to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
And hours after the fire, the site was accepting waste again—that is completely and utterly unacceptable in my view. No operator who wants to be a fair and good neighbour, who had regard for the impact on residents would have accepted waste so quickly.”
In advance of this debate, the chief executive of Newcastle-under-Lyme borough council provided me with the number of complaints received by the council from 2019 to the end of August 2024: 32,315. Some 32,315 of my constituents have shared their rage, anger and frustration. Residents are also encouraged to report complaints to the Environment Agency, so I suspect there will be many more complaints. More than 30,000 people over five years have said that enough is enough, and we—the relevant agencies, from borough and county councils to the Environment Agency and Whitehall—must listen.
I acknowledge the work of the former Tory MP in my constituency for his work on this issue, but the simple fact is that the people of Newcastle-under-Lyme have been let down and left behind, and that must change.
I do not know what discussions my predecessor had with Ministers in the Conservative Government, so I cannot speak to what happened before 5 July; that is why I secured this debate. I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State signed off on the council’s ability to take action against Walleys—I believe that the previous Conservative Minister left the issue sitting on their desk. I urge the Minister to think about introducing a fit and proper person test for those seeking a permit to operate a landfill site, which would go some way to ensuring that those who have taken the mick can no longer do so. I would be happy to meet the Minister to talk about that in detail.
In January 2024, the now Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs came to Newcastle-under-Lyme to meet local campaigners and Councillor Jacqueline Brown in Silverdale. He smelled, he listened and he understood the situation we face.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Dr Gardner) noted, this is a health crisis as much as an environmental crisis. There is major concern in the community about the fact that the health impacts have not been acknowledged properly. I ask the Minister to meet me and the relevant Health Minister to address the health impact of this waste crisis in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
We need a closure notice, and I urge the Environment Agency to grant one immediately. The site must be properly and safely capped, and we need a restoration plan that is fit for purpose. In recent weeks, we have heard calls from the borough council and the county council about the financial element of the restoration plan. I have a simple question: what on earth is going on? What happened to the financial modelling behind the restoration plan? Why are we now realising that it requires external support? Why was that not raised before? This did not just become an issue after 5 July.
Those who could and should have had their eyes on the ball and their fingers on the pulse have been found wanting. My constituents should not be paying for the failures of the state at all levels, so will the Minister go back to the Department with my suggestion to look at what the Environment Agency does with the money it receives from enforcement action? How much money does it collect from enforcement each year, and how can we ensure that it is used to right the wrongs? The Environment Agency is responsible for upholding the law, and those who break it should pay for their mess.
Walleys Quarry Ltd has a bond with the Environment Agency of, I think, about £1.8 million. I have been told by some of those who should know that the safe, secure restoration of the site could cost as much as £20 million. That is not a revelation; the right people have known about it, and it simply has not been addressed.
After my election, I submitted a range of written parliamentary questions asking to see communication between the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Staffordshire county council, between the Department and the Environment Agency, and between the Department and the borough council. I was told that it would cost too much to process those requests.
The people of Newcastle-under-Lyme have had enough. They simply want to get on with their lives and to be free from the horrendous and dangerous impact of Walleys Quarry. That cannot be too much to ask, and I will keep fighting—alongside all those who want clean air and healthy lungs, healthy hearts and healthy minds right across Newcastle-under-Lyme—until we get the closure notice that we desperately need and the proper restoration plan to go with it.