In the Guardian today, the above, and:

Illegal dumps in West Yorkshire, Surrey and Kent will be cleared up using taxpayer money, Andy Burnham has announced, as the prime minister promises a new drive to tackle toxic waste.

Ministers have identified dumps in Bradford, Runnymede and the Isle of Sheppey, which collectively contain about 22,000 tonnes of illegal waste, to be cleared in the next phase of the government’s national clear-up effort.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/19/taxpayers-to-fund-clear-up-of-dumps-in-west-yorkshire-surrey-and-kent

Why will this not be paid for by a waste management budget for England?

The money comes from the UK Treasury’s pooled revenues, which include taxes raised across the whole UK (including Scotland). There is no separate “devolved waste budget for England” because England has no separate legislature or government for these matters—the UK Government (via Defra and the Environment Agency) performs that role for England. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-orders-crackdown-on-the-criminal-gangs-profiting-from-illegal-waste-and-blighting-communities

Barnet consequentials?

A one-off clean-up financed from existing budgets, however, does not automatically create a new Barnett consequential in the way a fresh Spending Review uplift would. The practical effect is that the cost is met from the shared UK revenue pool allocated to English functions, without a direct, proportional “Scottish share” being billed separately.

Scottish taxpayers do help fund the UK Treasury pot from which these English clean-ups are paid, because that is how the single UK public finances work. There is no separate English waste budget that is ring-fenced from Scottish revenue, nor is there a direct Scottish contribution line-item for these specific sites.

Is this similar to Scots taxpayers sharing the cost of HS2 and Chinese-owned steel mill takeovers?

We’ve done that several times already. Same:

Calls for cancellation of HS2 white elephant would mean Scots taxpayers saving more than £8 billion for a train service that stopped in England anyway

Scots to meet £400 million cost of their share of £5 billion to nationalise British, sorry English and Welsh Steel

If you can’t bothered reading:

You’ll need thirty quid. You’ve just bought a steelworks in Scunthorpe – 1 minute video

Finally, does Scotland have similar crises?

Nope:

As ‘miserable’ Derbyshire villagers face ‘swarms of flies’ Scotland’s environment agency is TWICE as effective in closing illegal waste dumps

Are Barnett consequential likey for this waste clear-up?

For this specific waste clear-up, new Barnett consequentials for Scotland are not likely. Any effect would be negligible or zero unless the Treasury later reclassifies the spending as an increase in planned comparable DEL (which the current wording does not indicate). This is the normal distinction between “new money” announcements that trigger Barnett and internal reallocations that do not.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-orders-crackdown-on-the-criminal-gangs-profiting-from-illegal-waste-and-blighting-communities

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-october-2025/block-grant-transparency-october-2025-explanatory-note