Issue - meetings
Fixed Penalty Notices (fees and charges)
Meeting: 10/01/2022 - Executive (Item 92)
92 Fixed Penalty Notices 
PDF 372 KB
Report of Assistant Director – Regulatory Services and Community Safety
Purpose of report
To review and agree the fixed penalty notice fines that can be charged for various environmental crimes.
Recommendations
The meeting is recommended:
1.1 To consider and determine the fixed penalty notice fine levels for certain environmental crimes enforced by the council.
Additional documents:
Decision:
Resolved
(1) That, having given due consideration, the following fixed penalty notice fine levels for certain environmental crimes enforced by the council be agreed:
|
Description of offence |
Penalty |
Penalty if paid within 10 days |
|
Unauthorised deposit of waste (fly tipping) |
£400 |
£240 |
|
Failure in household duty of care |
£300 |
£180 |
|
Depositing litter |
£100 |
£75 |
|
Failure to remove dog faeces from designated land |
£100 |
£75 |
Minutes:
The Assistant Director – Regulatory Services and Community Safety submitted a report to review and agree the fixed penalty notice fines that can be charged for various environmental crimes.
Resolved
(1) That, having given due consideration, the following fixed penalty notice fine levels for certain environmental crimes enforced by the council be agreed:
|
Description of offence |
Penalty |
Penalty if paid within 10 days |
|
Unauthorised deposit of waste (fly tipping) |
£400 |
£240 |
|
Failure in household duty of care |
£300 |
£180 |
|
Depositing litter |
£100 |
£75 |
|
Failure to remove dog faeces from designated land |
£100 |
£75 |
Reasons
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 provides that local authorities can issue a fixed penalty notice to a person believed to have committed specified environmental offences. Fixed penalties can be an effective and visible way of responding to environmental crimes and provide a quicker and proportionate alternative to prosecution through the courts. They allow the person believed to have committed an offence the opportunity to discharge their liability to conviction for that offence by payment of a fixed penalty. However, if an alleged offender does not pay a fixed penalty fine the matter would be put forward for prosecution for the original offence.
The receipts from fixed penalties can be retained by the council and used to support the investigation of environmental offences.
Alternative options
Option 1: To leave the fixed penalty fine levels unchanged at current levels. This option was rejected as the current fine levels do not reflect the seriousness of the offences or the Council’s costs for investigating the offences.
Option 2: To not issue fixed penalty notices but to proceed with prosecutions. This option was rejected because issuing a fixed penalty notice is a proportionate approach for dealing with lesser offences in accordance with the Council’s Enforcement Policy. The income from fixed penalties can be also be retained by the council and used to support the investigation of environmental offences.