Abingdon man who used fake online profiles to abuse children has his sentence increased by the Court of Appeal.

The Environment Agency and Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have agreed on steps to stop illegal waste carriers and improve road safety in England.

Sir James Bevan, Environment Agency Chief Executive, and Gareth Llewellyn, DVSA Chief Executive, signed an agreement today (12 September 2017) in London.

How being a waste carrier works

Companies must register as a waste carrier if they:

• transport waste
• buy, sell or dispose of waste

However, some carriers operate illegally without the necessary licence, and don’t dispose of waste legally.

Companies who use a waste carrier must check they’re registered to dispose of waste, and not allow the waste carrier to dispose of their waste illegally.

Every year waste crime costs taxpayers and businesses £1 billion. The Environment Agency spent almost £15 million stopping illegal waste activity between April 2015 and March 2016.

What the agreement will do

The Environment Agency and DVSA will share intelligence and carry out joint operations in England to:

• stop waste being illegally transported
• target unsafe drivers and vehicles

The agreement will see:

• DVSA staff working within Environment Agency teams, making sure enforcement action is coordinated and effective
• information and intelligence shared between the 2 agencies, increasing the effectiveness of roadside enforcement activity on waste industry vehicles
• enforcement teams provided with up-to date and relevant intelligence about waste industry operators

A DVSA traffic examiner inspects a waste carrier

This will all help to:

• identify high-risk or illegal goods vehicle operators who are involved in the transport of waste
• reduce the number of seriously and serially non-compliant waste industry vehicles on England’s roads

Report unsafe operators

You can report any information you have about to unsafe vehicle operators to DVSA.

Building on years of joint work

Sir James Bevan and Gareth Llewellyn (right) talk to Environment Agency and DVSA staff at a joint operation in London

For a number of years, the Environment Agency and DVSA have worked together to stop waste crime, making sure companies are operating legally and vehicle safety is improved.

Gareth Llewellyn said:

DVSA priority is to protect you from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

I am delighted that we will be working with the Environment Agency to tackle those who illegally transport waste. By combining our enforcement powers and intelligence we’ll be able to target those who break the rules more effectively.

DVSA traffic examiners will issue fines to those waste carriers we find to be operating in an unsafe manner. These operators are putting themselves and other road users at risk and pose a danger to our environment.

Sir James Bevan said:

We want to protect people and communities from the impact that vehicle and waste crime can have and create a level playing field for all operators.

This memorandum of understanding with DVSA will help both organisations target the waste industry to improve compliance and vehicle and driver safety standards.

To help us with this, we are encouraging people to check with the Environment Agency if the company they are employing to take their waste away is a fully registered waste carrier.

Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling announced the preferred route for upgrading the A303 at Stonehenge this week.

As part of the biggest government investment in roads in a generation, the £1.6 billion scheme includes the construction of a tunnel past one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments, a free-flowing, mile-a-minute dual carriageway and a much-needed bypass north of Winterbourne Stoke.

Highways England is hosting drop-in sessions where members of the public are invited to call in to see the proposals and to discuss the preferred route with the project team.

Consultation on the proposed upgrade between Amesbury and Berwick Down attracted considerable feedback earlier this year and Highways England has used this to inform its choice of preferred route, including moving the position of the western portal to avoid conflict with the solstice alignment.

Highways England project director Derek Parody said:

We are pleased to offer an opportunity for people to find out what happens next and to understand the benefits we are working to deliver.

We have listened to feedback from more than 9,000 people and organisations in our consultation earlier this year, and from this, and further surveys and studies, we can move forward with a solution to help improve traffic flow, reduce rat running on surrounding roads, bringing improvements to local communities and benefits to the South West economy, while at the same time enhancing and protecting one of the UK’s most iconic landscapes.

We will continue to work with all our heritage partners, and local communities to help shape the scheme’s future development, and we look forward to giving everyone an opportunity to see the revised preferred route at these public sessions.

Further consultation on the details of the route will take place in 2018, but in the meantime, the public will be able to view information, including copies of the preferred route booklet, and meet members of the Highways England project team at this month’s drop-in sessions.

The events will take place at:

The Manor Barn, High Street, Winterbourne Stoke SP3 4SZ

• Saturday 16 September 11am to m5pm
• Friday, 29 September 2pm to 8pm

Antrobus House, 39 Salisbury Road, Amesbury SP4 7HH

• Friday, 22 September 2pm to 8pm
• Saturday, 23 September 11am to 5pm

Details of the preferred route are also available on the scheme consultation page.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Government will publish its next Budget on Wednesday 22 November 2017.