Local government performance framework
NI 196 - Improved street and environmental cleanliness – fly tipping
Fly Tipping is a criminal activity and the Government recognises the need for action from government, the industry and the public. NI 196 is designed to help local authorities tackle this problem.
NI 196 draws upon the fly-tipping data provided monthly by local authorities to the Flycapture database. This is summary data that consists of fly-tipping incidents that are dealt with, by number, size, waste type, and location type. It also contains the enforcement actions and outcomes taken by local authorities. The NI 196 ‘score’ is determined by assessing the progress made by each local authority by comparing its present level of fly-tipping and enforcement activity with that of the previous year.
In this way NI 196 is different to many other indicators – there is no ‘national benchmark’ because the nature of fly-tipping varies greatly according to the type of area (urban, rural, etc). Instead NI 196 looks for consistent progress by encouraging local authorities to improve upon their own past performance.
Defra funded the Environment Agency to develop the Flycapture database because there were previously no national statistics for fly-tipping incidents so it had been difficult to assess the scale of the problem. Flycapture was launched in April 2004, and was designed to rectify this problem. Flycapture is a legislative requirement under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003. This requires all waste collection authorities (in England and Wales) and the Environment Agency to submit monthly returns for their reported fly-tipping incidents, so that national statistics can be compiled, thus providing a more accurate picture of size of the problem.
Flycapture enables all waste disposal authorities to submit data easily. Take up and registration on the database has been excellent with 100% of waste collection authorities in England and Wales registered.
Effective use of Flycapture will allow local and central Government to demonstrate the cost of dealing with fly-tipping but also allocate existing resources more effectively. It is envisaged that focusing on enforcement; deterrence and prevention rather than just clearing up illegally dumped waste can lead to a more effective use of existing resources.
Page published: 8 April 2008