Dear Mr Harper
Request for Information I refer again to your email of 15 May 2020 seeking information in relation to Flytipping. Having regard to the nature of your request it appears to me that it is governed by the provisions of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 rather than the Freedom of Information legislation and it is in terms of these Regulations that my response is made. Returning to your request and having investigated, my response to your enquiry is as follows: North Lanarkshire Council recognises that the presence of fly tipping is unsightly, in many instances dangerous, and that the cost of removal is an unfair financial burden, met either by the Council or other landowners afflicted by fly tipping. Recent financial pressures have resulted in staffing reductions within the Council’s Environmental Protection service; however, investigation of fly tipping incidents, and resulting enforcement action (where possible), remain within the service’s remit. Such reductions, unfortunately, have meant that it is not possible to investigate each and every instance of fly tipping and, as a consequence, resources are being focused on those cases with the greatest chance of a successful outcome. In summary, these include: • cases where there is corroborating CCTV evidence of the individual(s) responsible, and • cases where there are corroborated and signed witness statements from observers, identifying the individual(s) responsible. While it is recognised that there are numerous other examples of ‘evidence’ of fly tipping, such as photographs, or letters / labels in the dumped material that might attribute it to an address, experience has shown that the prospect of a successful enforcement outcome is limited by a lack of corroborating evidence. To support its fly tipping enforcement actions, the Council makes use of its extensive public network of CCTV cameras. These have been instrumental in providing sufficient evidence to support the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices to offenders. In addition, recognising that fly tipping often takes place around more remote rural roads, the Council is currently testing the deployment of new mobile CCTV cameras that require no fixed electricity source. If these tests prove successful, there are plans to expand the number of such cameras, which in turn should serve to deter fly tipping offenders. As a result of the Council’s corresponding investigations and actions, 118 Fixed Penalty Notices for fly tipping were issued in financial year 2019/20. All fly tipped material deposited on Council-maintained land is logged for disposal and is uplifted, depending on the urgency, as and when Council resources permit. It should be noted that the Council’s fly tipping remit is limited to the investigation of small incidents, with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) being the primary enforcing authority, in particular where significant volumes of material or repeat offences are involved. The Council routinely shares intelligence on fly tipping matters with SEPA and an excellent working relationship between the organisations has developed over the years. Finally, recent reports in the media suggest that there has been an increase in fly tipping incidents due to circumstances associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. North Lanarkshire Council has taken a number of actions to mitigate that potential, for example, by re-introducing its Special Uplift service (albeit in limited form) from 14 May and by preparing plans for re-opening its Household Waste Recycling Centres, when authorised to do so by the Scottish Government. I can advise that North Lanarkshire Council, having regard to the provisions of Regulation 16 of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, has established a procedure whereby any person who has requested information in terms of those Regulations, may make representations if it appears to the applicant that the authority has not complied with any requirements of the Regulations in relation to the applicant’s request. Any such representations require to be made in writing and received by the Council not later than 40 working days after either the date that the applicant receives any decision or notification which the applicant believes does not comply with these Regulations or the date by which such a decision or notification should have been made, or any other action should be taken by the authority, but was not made or taken. Any such representations should be addressed to the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions, Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB. Accordingly, if you wish to seek a review, please write to the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions. I would advise, also, that in terms of Regulation 17 of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, a person who is dissatisfied with a notice given by the local authority under Regulation 16(4) of the Regulations - ie. a notice following a review of a decision by a local authority, or by the failure of a local authority to give such a notice - may make application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a decision as to whether, in any respect specified in that application, the request for information to which the requirement relates has been dealt with in accordance with the Regulations. Such an application must be made within six months of the review decision and be in writing or in another form which, by reason of it having some permanency is capable of being used for subsequent reference. The application must state the name of the applicant and provide an address for correspondence. The application must also specify the request for information to which the requirement for review relates, the matter which gave rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the original decision of the local authority and the matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the decision on review by the local authority or the failure of the local authority to issue such a decision. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted as follows:- Scottish Information Commissioner Kinburn Castle Doubledykes Road St. Andrews KY16 9DS I hope this information is sufficient for your purpose. If, however, you require further information – or I can assist in any other way – please let me know. Yours sincerely Angelene Kirkpatrick For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator North Lanarkshire Council Civic Centre Windmillhill Street Motherwell ML1 1AB
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Hi Alister, thank you for your email and your concerns over the blight on all our community's fly tipping. This is something that NLC have been working on for many years now as we now spend around £1 million a year clearing this up.
Unfortunately you are correct due to ongoing and lasting cuts to our budget there has been cuts to this service in recent years. This is very disappointing but we are running out of options on what to cut. During this crisis that we are in there has been a spike in fly tipping but the teams are doing what they can to have it cleared as quickly as possible. Please keep doing the reporting as long as you keep yourself safe. Michael McPake, North Lanarkshire Council |
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