We come to another new power in the Bill which has some merit. The Local Government Association has come out in favour of the immediate seizure of vehicles in which people have been caught fly-tipping. It seems that the current system allows perpetrators to escape with the tools of their trade, thus allowing them to commit further offences. I hope that the new powers will support the sharing of information and intelligence made possible by the new flycatcher database, and will help local authorities, the police and the Environment Agency to apprehend commercial fly-tippers. As has been said, the agency estimates that there may be about 50,000 fly-tipping incidents a year, which cost authorities £100 million or more to clean up. We must do all that we can to tackle this significant problem.

Although the Conservatives are generally happy with the thrust of the Clause, I have some points to raise with the Minister about the powers to search and seize vehicles. As section 34B of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 makes clear, an authorised officer   of an enforcement authority, or a constable, may seize a vehicle and its contents but, notably, only a uniformed officer may stop a vehicle on the road. I wonder in how many incidents the perpetrator is apprehended while making a getaway after the illegal fly-tipping has already taken place. In such circumstances, according to the clause, only a uniformed officer would have the power to stop the vehicle.

At one level, I understand why the power to stop a vehicle when it is being driven along the road is restricted to uniformed officers, but it would be useful if the Committee had a better understanding of what consultation went on with which bodies. Obviously, the police were involved, but were there any discussions about having a wider power to stop vehicles, not one restricted to uniformed officers?

Following on from that, my second question is whether there is scope for provision to be made for the Environment Agency and other authorised officers to have wider powers. People will normally try to get away after fly-tipping: they may see an official-looking person striding along with a clipboard about to apprehend them, at which point they will decide to leg it, even if they are halfway through committing the offence, and will get into their car and be in the process of getting away. According to the clause, in those circumstances it would be impossible for a non-uniformed officer to intervene, other than taking down the registration number. I should like some further explanation from the Minister on that point.

What consultation did the Department conduct to arrive at what is quite a narrow power for a uniformed officer, albeit one that is not extended to other authorised officers? As I said, in most cases the people committing the offence will be in the process of getting away and driving down the road, rather than sitting quietly in the passenger seat with the ignition turned off, waiting to be apprehended by an agency officer. The position would be clear if they were; it is not when someone is trying to make an exit.