Decision details

A report relating to the use of fixed penalty notices for offences under section 34(2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and to set the monetary level for fixed penalties which may be issued for offences under section 34 (2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 relating to household duty of care fixed penalty notices

1.Approves the use of fixed penalty notices for house hold duty of care offences under Section 34(2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
2.Sets the level of the fixed penalty notice under section 34 (2A) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at £200 which is the default penalty.
3.Approves a reduction of the fixed penalty notice to £120 where the penalty is paid within ten (10) working day of the service of the fixed penalty notice which is the minimum discounted penalty.

To introduce the use of fixed penalty notices for household fly tipping duty of care offences. At present the only enforcement option available to the Council is to prosecute all duty of care offences. Prosecutions can be quite burdensome in terms of investigation, file preparation and court attendance as such the proposed process will reduce time spend by neighbourhood wardens preparing prosecution files and the need for members of the legal team to attend court.
To set the level of the fixed penalty notice at such a rate discourage the offence of not complying with the duty of care set out in the EPA 1990 and reflect the costs associated with investigation and clearance but to offer some incentive for early payment

Not to approve the issuing of fixed penalty notices for duty of care offences. However this places a greater burden on the Councils Public Protection and Legal services as all duty of care offences will need to be referred for prosecution through the Courts.
Not to set the fixed penalty amount at £200 and to instead adopt a figure for the fixed penalty notice of up to £400, which is the maximum penalty set out in the legislation however it is felt that this amount may cause unnecessary hardship and lead to a higher number of unpaid fixed penalties. Or to adopt a figure for the fixed penalty notice of £150 which is the minimum set out in the legislation. However it is felt that this lower amount does not reflect the seriousness of the offence as well as the costs associated with any investigations.
Not to adopt the reduction in fixed penalty amount for early payment of the fine. However it is felt that the early payment reduction is likely to result in early payment which will save is time and costs progressing the mater to prosecution.