7. 7. The Unauthorised Deposit of Waste (Fixed Penalties) (Wales) Regulations 2017

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:25 pm on 24 October 2017.

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Photo of Lesley Griffiths Lesley Griffiths Labour 6:25, 24 October 2017

Diolch. I will ensure that the matter around the document being available in Welsh is rectified as soon as possible. I give you that assurance.

You’re quite right that this is a perfect example of what we’ve just been talking about, and you will have heard me say many times that I believe that our environmental standards in Wales are much higher than in other parts of the UK, in part. And, certainly, if you look at our recycling, for instance, that’s part of our environment where we have very high standards and we’ve reached much higher targets than other parts. And I have said this: we must be able to set those limits and have those policies in place and not have them imposed on us by the UK Government. So, I think you’re quite right: this is a perfect example.

In relation to the examples you gave, I mentioned in my opening remarks that local authorities would still be able to exercise their existing criminal prosecution powers for offences that they would deem inappropriate for a fixed-penalty notice and I think a persistent offender is a good example, again, of that. So, it is just part of the two. I’ve met with local authorities that have asked me to bring forward this legislation; they feel it would be very beneficial in tackling environmental crime, but it is up to them to be able to decide when they want to use the powers that they have in relation to prosecution.