In October 2022, our report on government actions to combat waste crime found the Department was making slow progress on its digital waste tracking system, and was not even at the pilot stage after four years of effort, despite its implementation being core 42 C&AG’s Report, Figure 8 43 Committee of Public Accounts, Government actions to combat waste crime, Eighteenth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 33, 19 October 2022 44 Qq 9, 12 45 Q11; C&AG’s Report 1.24 46 Q 61 47 C&AG’s Report, para 11, 1.25 48 C&AG’s Report, para 1.25 49 C&AG’s Report para 1.26 50 Q69 16 Government’s programme of waste reforms to combatting waste crime.51 The Department told us it is confident the project will be completed by April 2025 within the budget of £9.5 million. It said it would launch the beta version to the public in 2024.52