WIREDGOV

LGA calls for urgent sentencing review as court fines for fly-tipping undercut council penalties

The Local Government Association (LGA) is calling on the Government and the Sentencing Council to urgently review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping, after new figures show that offenders prosecuted through the courts are often fined less than the penalties councils can issue directly.

Analysis of the latest fly-tipping data shows that the average court fine for fly-tipping is £539, which is £87 lower than the £626 average fixed penalty notice (FPN) councils can issue for the same offence. The LGA says this sentencing gap undermines deterrence, weakens enforcement, and leaves councils out of pocket after time-consuming and costly prosecutions.

Fly-tipping costs councils more than £19.3 million each year to clear up, with 1.26 million incidents recorded in England in 2024/25 alone. Councils are taking increasing enforcement action against offenders, but taking cases to court often requires lengthy investigations, high evidential thresholds and significant staff time.

Despite this, sentencing outcomes frequently fail to reflect the seriousness of the offence or the public cost involved.

In York, two offenders were each fined £300 by magistrates for waste offences, despite Fixed Penalty Notices of £600 and £1,000 being issued. In Wiltshire, a fly-tipper who failed to pay a £1,000 Fixed Penalty Notice was fined just £80 when the case was brought to court. In Chelmsford, two offenders were each fined £300 after being prosecuted for fly-tipping, lower than the £400 Fixed Penalty Notices they had received.

The LGA says sentencing guidelines are now out of step with the real impact of fly-tipping on communities, the environment and public finances, and that tougher penalties are needed to deter repeat and organised offenders.

Cllr Arooj Shah, Chair of the LGA Neighbourhoods Committee, said:
“Fly-tipping is criminal activity that blights communities and costs taxpayers millions of pounds every year.

“Councils are working hard to investigate and prosecute offenders, but when court fines are lower than fixed penalties, it undermines enforcement and fails to act as a deterrent.

“Sentencing guidelines must be reviewed so that the punishment fits the crime and reflects both the harm caused and the significant work undertaken by enforcement officers.”

The LGA says stronger sentencing would also support the Government’s ambition to improve pride in place by protecting local environments and public spaces.

Notes to editors

• In 2024/25, councils in England dealt with 1.26 million fly-tipping incidents.
• Fly-tipping costs councils over £19.3 million annually to clear up large-scale incidents.
• Magistrates’ sentencing guidelines link fines to means and harm, but average fines remain lower than fixed penalty notices.
• The current success rate for council prosecutions and it stands at 99.1%, the highest it’s ever been.
• The maximum fine for a fixed penalty notice is £1000. The average fine issued by councils last year was £626