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New powers to tackle waste crime come into force today as the Environment Agency is given the authority to lock up illegal waste sites and block access in order to prevent tonnes of waste piling up and posing a risk to the environment.
The Environment Agency has also been granted the power to require rogue operators to clear all the waste at a problem waste site, not just the illegal waste. The changes are in response to a public consultation where 90% of respondents supported proposals for the regulator to take physical steps to curb illegal waste activity.
As the fight against waste crime ramps up, the Environment Agency has also announced that its waste enforcement officers will be equipped with body worn video cameras on their visits to waste sites. The move follows a growing number of abusive incidents during site inspections.
The measures follow an extra £30 million of funding from the Government in November 2017 to tackle waste crime – an issue that drives business away from legitimate operators, blights communities and endangers the environment.
Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey said:
These new powers will give the Environment Agency the tools they need to curb the rise of waste sites that continue to break the law and blight our communities.
Through our 25 year Environment plan we want to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it. As part of that commitment I am determined to crack down on these criminals and these new powers will be crucial in ending this criminal activity once and for all, backed up by £30 million of new money.
Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, said:
These are tough new sanctions against waste criminals and their unscrupulous activity which not only drains the economy but causes harm to the environment and damages livelihoods across the country. Last year, we closed down more than two illegal waste sites a day, and we’re determined to keep going.
As we step up our fight against waste criminals, we also have a duty to protect our officers who put themselves in potentially hostile situations when they visit sites for inspections or to serve notices. The introduction of the bodycams provides an added deterrent as our officers do the important job of fighting waste crime.
The use of body cameras was first trialled by the Environment Agency in the north east. Footage captured on a bodycam was recently used to bring a conviction against an offender for the first time. The defendant was found guilty of wilfully obstructing the officers in the execution of their duty and using abusive behaviour towards two officers.
Paul Whitehill, Environment Agency waste officer said:
As a former police officer, I’ve seen routine visits rapidly escalate into threatening, or sometimes even violent, situations. Sadly the same risks apply to the Environment Agency’s officers.
We want to get on with our jobs without the threat of violence and the cameras will help to protect staff and bring obstructive individuals to justice.
In the financial year 16/17, the Environment Agency brought 138 prosecutions against businesses or individuals for waste crime offences, yielding more than £2m in fines.
For more information on the trial of the body video cameras, see https://www.gov.uk/government/news/environment-agency-trials-use-of-body-cameras
For more information on the successful prosecution using body worn cameras, see our press release here.
The responses to the 2015 public consultation on increasing EA powers are also available online.
O Governo Britânico, em parceria com o Fundo Newton, abre as inscrições para o Prêmio Newton 2018. Os países contemplados para a chamada são Brasil, Chile, Colômbia e México. São elegíveis beneficiários existentes ou passados de projetos financiados pelo Newton Fund. O prêmio será concedido para a melhor pesquisa ou inovação que promova desenvolvimento econômico, bem-estar social ou que enfrente desafios globais.
O Prêmio Newton reconhece e celebra pesquisas e inovações de excelência financiadas pelo Fundo Newton, desde o seu lançamento em 2014. Ele busca incentivar pesquisadores e inovadores a participarem como parceiros do Reino Unido e a trabalharem para responder aos mais urgentes desafios globais.
Neste ano, cinco projetos serão contemplados, pelo menos um prêmio para cada país será concedido, no valor máximo de200 mil libras, aproximadamente 1 milhão de reais, o qual deve ser usado para avançar ou desenvolver trabalhos existentes no Fundo Newton. A lista de inscrições será analisada por um comitê independente, liderado pelo Sir Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, um dos mais ilustres cientistas britânicos, vencedor do Prêmio Nobel e presidente da Royal Society de Londres.
“A América Latina tem uma riqueza de excelentes pesquisadores trabalhando em colaboração com o Reino Unido para abordar questões diversas como biodiversidade, saúde e observação da Terra através das parcerias do Fundo Newton na região. Como presidente do Comitê do Prêmio, estou ansioso para descobrir mais sobre esses empreendimentos colaborativos”, afirmou o cientista.
As inscrições, em inglês, são feitas pelo site até o dia 25 de maio de 2018:
http://www.newtonfund.ac.uk/newtonprize/
Thank you Mr President, first of all for convening this debate and for your contribution at this most opportune and important time.
May I also take this opportunity to thank Secretary-General Guterres for his leadership and his commitment to reform on peacekeeping; Chairperson Faki; and to Ms Touré. You gave a passionate, powerful and poignant reminder through your reflections on the role of peacekeeping and how its effectiveness can be improved . And I am sure we all heard your voice, your plea and your contribution in very clear terms.
Mr President, as we mark 70 years of UN Peacekeeping, it is right that we pause, we reflect, on the many lives saved, and on the regions and countries that have been stabilised over the years. There are millions of people living in some of the most challenging places on earth. They have been given hope, they have been given opportunity. This is the proud legacy of the toil and sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of men and women who have put their lives at risk. Some indeed have lost their lives. And why? To protect the most vulnerable.
In this 70th anniversary year, we salute their service and the service of those who support UN efforts through regional bodies, like the AU Mission in Somalia. Over the past 70 years, the challenges that peacekeepers have faced have evolved: disputes are increasingly complex; mission settings are increasingly dangerous; and too often, our collective contribution in this building has failed to keep pace.
Mr President,
UN Peacekeeping is far too important to fail. In recent years, we have indeed made progress – for example in planning and force generation. The Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Meetings in London in 2016 and Vancouver in 2017 delivered 80 new pledges of personnel and capability. This progress must continue. We welcome the Secretary-General’s call to action this year and also I welcome his statement today on the sharpened focus on the safety and security of peacekeepers, and the UN’s Action Plan to implement some of the recommendations is also very timely. I also welcome the Secretary-General’s statement today to provide regular updates on the delivery of this Action Plan.
And as we embark on this collective effort to improve UN Peacekeeping, the United Kingdom would suggest three areas on which to focus:
Firstly, the Security Council must take its responsibilities seriously, and have the information available in order to do so. We must set clear, achievable objectives for Peacekeeping Operations, and not be afraid to sequence, so that mandates provide the right direction, the right resources, at the right time. We should go further, setting mandates that are more strategic and take a longer-term view. To do this, the Council needs high quality, timely, and accurate information and analysis. We need to work together better to achieve this – both states and institutions.
Secondly, to succeed, Peacekeeping Operations need to be complemented by all the tools that the UN and international community have at our disposal. We need better coordination – at headquarters and in the field – with peacebuilding, better development, and all the other arms of the UN to support. This is why we support the vision and themes underpinning the Secretary-General’s Sustaining Peace Proposals and his Peace and Security Architecture reforms.
And thirdly, we must, we must, improve performance, and strengthen accountability for underperformance. There needs to be a better match between the capacity of the troops, and the tasks they are asked to perform. This requires the Department for Peacekeeping Operations to reinforce work on force generation, on training, and on performance monitoring and indeed on evaluation. It also requires Member States to deliver the capabilities they have committed. We must continue to recognise the essential role of women in ensuring the successful delivery of peacekeeping and engage more women in all components of all missions.
And above all we must, we must stop sexual exploitation and abuse by those sent to protect civilians, and we must offer real protection for women, children and indeed all vulnerable communities, as Ms Touré highlighted in her contribution.
Furthermore, addressing conflict-related sexual violence is equally crucial. The United Kingdom is looking to host an international meeting in 2019 marking progress and next steps, five years on from the Global Summit on Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict. And whilst welcoming the progress made, in particular the UN’s new victim-centred approach, there still remain too many incidents of concern across the UN system.
Mr President,
Through the leadership of the Secretary-General, we have an opportunity to make UN Peacekeeping fit for our times. It is the responsibility of all of us to work together to seize that opportunity – that means the Council, the Secretariat, regional and sub-regional bodies, host states, and those who provide troops, police and financing. And let us not forget those UN Peacekeepers, under the banner of the United Nations, act in the name of each and every one of us. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure they embody the ideals of the UN Charter, because through them we ultimately “unite our strength to maintain international peace and security”.
Thank you.