To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to help farmers tackle fly-tipping.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

Fly-tipping is unacceptable whether it occurs on public or private land. It blights local communities and the environment and is an issue the Government is committed to tackling, which is why we made tackling fly-tipping one of our manifesto commitments.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group (NFTPG), which is a group of organisations, including rural and urban landowning groups, working with a common aim to help prevent and tackle fly-tipping.

The NFTPG is working with major landowners in England, such as the National Farmers Union and Country Land and Business Association, to increase the reporting of fly-tipping on private land. We are doing so through developing a mobile smartphone and tablet app to collect data to better understand the extent of fly-tipping nationally, along with the type and geographical pattern of incidents. This will aid the investigation of incidents and help target enforcement.

The NFTPG has published a Fly-tipping Partnership Framework, outlining best practice for the prevention, reporting, investigation and clearance of fly-tipping. The NFTPG has also published a series of fly-tipping prevention guides for householders, businesses and landowners to help stop fly-tipping on their land.

We are also fulfilling a commitment in the Resources and Waste Strategy to develop a ‘Fly-Tipping Toolkit’ that will include guidance on local partnership working between landowners, including farmers, the police, local authorities and the Environment Agency, as well as guidance on presenting robust cases to the courts to ensure tougher penalties for fly-tipping.