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UK PARLIAMENT · SITTING

Sarah Dyke

MP for Glastonbury and Somerton · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

That is why we call on the Government to go further. First, they should raise each fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping to £2,500, so that the penalty better reflects the profit being made.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION · 2026-07-06 · READ IN HANSARD

A permit regime has the ability to stop a rogue operator registering, but it will never stop a criminal gang that were never going to register in the first place. Why would they, when they are making their millions in the knowledge that there is no fear of being caught?

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION · 2026-07-06 · READ IN HANSARD

I thank the Minister for setting out this statutory instrument, which the Liberal Democrats support. For too long, the system regulating who can transport and manage our waste has relied on a simple registration scheme, scarcely able to distinguish between reputable operators and rogue ones. That simply cannot continue.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION · 2026-07-06 · READ IN HANSARD

Although it is a great example of people power and coming together to solve a problem that could not be solved otherwise, it should never have been necessary for local people to be forced into intervening. That is what enforcement failure looks like on the ground.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION · 2026-07-06 · READ IN HANSARD

A BBC investigation at the end of last year identified 517 active illegal waste dumps across England. Eleven of them are what investigators call “super sites”. The largest is in Northwich and holds an estimated 280,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION · 2026-07-06 · READ IN HANSARD

As it stands, the system gives a farmer in Somerset who finds waste dumped on their land no clear direction as to whether to call the unitary council, the Environment Agency or the police. That confusion is actively suppressing reporting, and with that comes the lack of enforcement. This SI is a genuine and welcome step.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION · 2026-07-06 · READ IN HANSARD

The complete record

Every one of 602 lines we hold for Sarah Dyke, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 13 of 13.

  1. My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Many in the industry feel that that figure is a vast underestimate, with inflation likely to bring yet more farms over the threshold within the next generation. I hope that the Government will look again at their modelling to see how they can protect family farms and target those who use agricultural land to avoid paying tax. The Liberal Democrats urge the Government to reconsider and raise revenue for public services more fairly by reversing the Conservatives’ tax cuts for big banks, increasing the remote gaming duty on online gambling profits and raising the digital service tax on social media companies and tech giants.

    INHERITANCE TAX RELIEF: FARMS · 2025-02-10 · READ IN HANSARD

  2. A balanced workforce in the armed forces is good for British defence, but women still face a raft of challenges, making it harder to attract and retain female talent. What steps is the Minister taking to accelerate progress towards the women in defence charter ambition of 30%, and to make the armed forces a better workplace for women?

    ARMED FORCES 2030 RECRUITMENT TARGET: WOMEN · 2025-02-10 · READ IN HANSARD