NEWS RELEASE
Date: 4 December 2007
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Government powers help Local Authorities get tough on litter
Local authorities are issuing more fixed penalty notices for littering than ever before – and more people are paying up when they get caught, figures published today show.
The total number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued for litter has risen by 32 per cent from 33,033 in 2005/6 to 43,624 in 2006/07.
Minister for Local Environment Quality Jonathan Shaw said:
“Ask communities what concerns them most about the area they live in and litter is near the top of list. Residents are right to expect their council to take a tough stance.
“I’m encouraged to see that more local authorities are using the powers Government has provided to penalise people who are ruining our streets with thoughtless offences like littering.
“But fixed penalty notices are only effective if local authorities take steps to ensure that they are paid – and, if they’re not, that effective action is taken at local level. I’m pleased to see that this has followed through in the results with an increase in payment rates, although there is still more to do.”
The figures show that the number of payments arising from FPNs for littering has risen by 49 per cent over the period from 18,002 in 2005/06 to 26,818 in 2006/07. However, these latest figures show a further 6,704 FPNs were cancelled and a further 3,797 are currently awaiting court action or going through the courts.
The statistics record FPNs issued for a range of offences that include noise, graffiti, abandoned vehicles and dog fouling. Results show that 3,675 FPNs were issued for dog fouling, with an 83.4 per cent payment rate achieved overall.
They show that overall the total number of FPNs issued for nuisance offences across the whole of England has risen by 42 per cent from 38,062 in 2005/6 to 54,015 in 2006/07, with the overall national payment rate up to 72.4 per cent from 57 per cent in 2005/6.
Jonathan Shaw continued:
“This is the first full year that we’ve had this data since we expanded the range of these powers - following calls from local authorities. Whilst the information is encouraging there is some way to go if authorities are to make best use of these powers. By stepping up the payment rate they will be able to crackdown on the full range of nuisance offences that include noise, fly-posting, graffiti and dog fouling.
“Fixed penalty notices are just one weapon that local authorities can use in the drive to reduce costly street cleansing. Clearly communities must work together and learn from each other if they are to achieve even better results in the future.”
Ian Clayton, Deputy Chief Executive, Keep Britain Tidy, said :
“It's good to see that more fines have been issued and most importantly that more are being paid. Our research has shown that the threat of a fine will encourage people not to litter, but people need to believe that they are going to get caught.
“Fining is a crucial tool in achieving clean streets especially when coupled with campaigning and education.”
Notes to editors
1. These latest fixed penalty notice returns which Defra has received from local authorities, along with results for past years can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/legislation/fpn/index.htm
2. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (2005) provided authorities with a new range of powers; these are powers not duties – the extent that they are used is up to the local authority. The powers were given in response to what the sector asked for over a two year consultation period prior to the Act.
3. The majority of powers were commenced in April 2006 and make greater use of fixed penalty notices, with greater opportunities of the authorities to retain receipts.
4. The long term aim of using enforcement , as it is with education, is to reduce a particular problem over time – if this can be achieved then less money will be needed to be spent on putting problems right on the street.
5. The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act gives local authorities categorised as “excellent” or “good” under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment the freedom and flexibility to be able to spend the receipts on any function.
6. Outline of measures in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (2005):
Fixed Penalty Notices (Fines)
- makes greater use of fixed penalties as an alternative to prosecution, in most cases giving local authorities the flexibility to set their own rates;
- gives parish councils the power to issue fixed penalties for litter, graffiti, fly posting and dog offences
Nuisance and Abandoned Vehicles
- gives local authorities the power to remove abandoned cars from the streets immediately;
- creates two new offences to help local authorities deal with nuisance parking: offering for sale two or more vehicles, or repairing a vehicle, on the road as part of a business.
Litter
- makes it an offence to drop litter anywhere, including private land and rivers, ponds and lakes;
- gives local authorities new powers (litter clearing notices) to require businesses and individuals to clear litter from their land;
- strengthens existing powers for local authorities to require local businesses to help clear up litter they generate (street litter control notices);
- enables local authorities to restrict the distribution of flyers, hand-outs and pamphlets that can end up as litter;
- confirms that cigarette butts and discarded chewing gum are litter.
Graffiti and fly-posting
- extends graffiti removal notices (as introduced by the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003) to include fly-posting;
- improves local authorities powers to tackle the sale of spray paints to children;
- strengthens the legislation to make it harder for beneficiaries of fly posting to evade prosecution;
- enables local authorities to recover the costs of removing illegal posters.
Waste
- amends provisions for dealing with fly-tipping by:
- removing the defence of acting under employer’s instructions
- increasing the penalties
- enabling local authorities and the Environment Agency to recover their investigation and clear-up costs
- extending provisions on clear up to the landowner in the absence of the occupier.
- removing the defence of acting under employer’s instructions
- gives local authorities and the Environment Agency the power to issue fixed penalty notices (and, in the case of local authorities, to keep the receipts from such penalties):
- to businesses that fail to produce waste transfer notes
- to waste carriers that fail to produce their registration details or evidence they do not need to be registered
- for waste left out on the streets (local authority only)
- to businesses that fail to produce waste transfer notes
- introduces a more effective system for stop, search and seizure of vehicles used in illegal waste disposal; and enabling courts to require forfeiture of such vehicles
- introduces a new provision covering the waste duty of care and the registration of waste carriers
Dogs
- replaces dog byelaws with a new, simplified system which will enable local authorities and parish councils to deal with fouling by dogs, ban dogs from designated areas, require dogs to be kept on a lead and restrict the number of dogs that can be walked by one person.
- gives local authorities, rather than police, sole responsibility for stray dogs (from April 2008).
Noise
- reduces nuisance caused by noise by giving local authorities to:
- deal with burglar alarms
- impose fixed penalty fines on licensed premises that ignore warnings to reduce excessive noise levels
- gives local authorities greater flexibility in dealing with noise nuisance.
Miscellaneous
- enables local authorities to recover the costs of dealing with abandoned shopping trolleys from their owners
- extends the list of statutory nuisances to include light pollution and nuisance for insects
End
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Page published: 4 December 2007