Purpose

Littering and fly-tipping remain persistent and
pervasive environmental offences that impose significant burdens on
public spaces, community well-being, and the operational capacity
of local authorities. These behaviours not only undermine the visual
amenity of neighbourhoods but also
contribute to environmental degradation, pose public health risks,
and exacerbate social inequalities.

According to Keep Britain Tidy’s seminal report A Rubbish
Reality, over 90% of surveyed locations across England were found
to contain litter. The prevalence of litter is notably higher in
areas of socio-economic deprivation, where the volume of waste was
recorded as being three times greater than in more affluent
communities. This disparity perpetuates a cycle of environmental
neglect, diminished civic pride, and heightened perceptions of
insecurity. Notably, 66% of respondents indicated they would feel
unsafe walking through a heavily littered area at night, while 86%
expressed embarrassment at the prospect of residing in such an
environment.

The financial implications of these offences are considerable. In
2024, local authorities in England collectively expended an
estimated £84 million addressing fly-tipping alone -
comprising £65 million in clean-up operations and £19
million in enforcement and investigation activities. More broadly,
the annual cost of street cleansing, including litter removal, is
estimated to exceed £1 billion, placing a substantial strain
on already limited municipal budgets.

In recognition of the escalating scale and impact of these issues,
the UK Government enacted the Environmental Offences (Fixed
Penalties) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023, introduced as
part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan. This legislation,
which came into force on 31 July 2023, increased the maximum
permissible levels for fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for
environmental offences as follows:
a) Littering and graffiti: from £150 to £500
b) Fly-tipping: from £400 to £1,000
c) Household waste duty of care breaches: from £400 to
£600

Content

To
approve the increase in Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) levels as
follows:

·      
Increase for littering
and graffiti from £80 to
£150, with a revised early payment option of £50 to
£75.

·      
Increase for
fly-tipping from £400 to £1,000, with an early payment
option of £500.

·      
Increase for Duty of
Care breaches from £400 to £500, with an early payment
option of £200.

That implementation of these new FPN levels take
effect from 1 September 2025.

Both
the Leader and Cabinet Member for Public Protection were consulted
on this matter.

Alternative options considered

Retaining the existing fixed penalty notice
levels of £80 for littering and £400 for fly-tipping
was considered but ultimately rejected. These amounts are no longer
commensurate with the severity and prevalence of the offences, nor
do they reflect the updated national policy framework introduced by
DEFRA. Maintaining the status quo would risk undermining the
credibility of enforcement efforts and fail to provide a sufficient
deterrent to repeat or opportunistic offenders. Furthermore, it
would represent a missed opportunity to align local policy with
national expectations and best practice.

Introduce alternative penalties (e.g., community service or
restorative justice)

The use of alternative sanctions, such as community payback schemes
or restorative justice interventions, was explored as a
supplementary or substitute measure. While such approaches can be
effective in certain contexts, particularly for engaging offenders
in the consequences of their actions, they are not currently
feasible within the Council’s existing operational framework.
These alternatives would require significant administrative
oversight, inter-agency coordination, and legal infrastructure,
none of which are presently in place. Moreover, they may not be
appropriate for the majority of FPN recipients, who typically
commit low-level offences that are more efficiently addressed
through financial penalties.