Littering Enforcement Policy

There is a wide range of advice, guidance, and enforcement actions available to the Council which range from those intended to inform and support those it regulates, to formal legal proceedings with the potential for a financial penalty. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

The objective of this action is to assist individuals and businesses to comply without the need to resort to more formal action. The council will utilise advice as appropriate and necessary in relation to compliance and guidance. As and where appropriate at the council’s discretion will seek to take appropriate and not disproportionate enforcement action.

A Simple Caution may be offered as an alternative to a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) for some minor offences, or for first time offences, to a business or individual where there is a realistic prospect of conviction, and where that business or individual has admitted the offence.

To be eligible for a Simple Caution there must be an admission of guilt by the offender. A Simple Caution will be endorsed in the Council records and may be admissible in subsequent Court proceedings for a similar offence.

Where a Simple Caution is declined, a prosecution will usually follow.

Simple Cautions administered by the Council are not the same as those issued by police services and details are not entered on to the Police National Computer. Simple cautions in this context are a specific formal warning to an offender that if they re-offend, a court could take the caution into account and on re-offending a larger sentence could be imposed on conviction.

On 31st July 2023, the Government increased the upper limit for FPNs for Littering offences issued under Criminal or Civil Law. The revised upper limit is as follows:

Buckinghamshire Council reflects Government guidance in its maximum fixed penalty rate of £500 for littering offences. The Council does not offer any early payment or discount options for an FPN or civil penalty notice. This is consistent with our stance against refuse-related environmental crime and supports the recovery of officer costs to the council taxpayer.

The Council intends to use the income from FPNs & civil penalty notices to offset the cost of the service against it, which reflects The Waste Enforcement (Fixed Penalty Receipts) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Regulations 2024.

Children under the age of 10 will not be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice. Anyone between the age of 10 and 17 will not normally be prosecuted nor receive an FPN, however will be managed though the use of appropriate caution and/or formal warnings. If the Council deems it necessary to interview a young person under 17 under caution, the alleged offender’s parents or legal guidance will be notified immediately and will be required to attend the interview.

All FPNs and civil penalty notices must be issued in a manner proportionate to the situation and in accordance with this policy. A reasonable approach should be taken which may result in giving a warning rather than issuing an FPN or civil penalty notice. Warnings should be recorded detailing the reasoning behind the decision taken.

If full payment is not received in respect of an FPN issued under criminal law, the case will be referred to the Council’s legal services for consideration of prosecution.

Enforcement Officers will only issue an FPN when all the following apply:

• a littering offence has been committed
• an FPN is a proportionate response
• there is sufficient evidence to support prosecution if the offender does not pay the FPN
• the offender understands why the FPN is being issued
• the enforcement officer believes that the name and address given by the recipient are correct

The Council may issue a Penalty Notice (PN) to a vehicle keeper under Civil Law where there is reason to believe that a littering offence has been committed in respect of the vehicle on the council’s land.

Penalty notices issued under Civil Law (where litter has been deposited from the vehicle and left) must be issued within 35 days of the offence taking place. The vehicle keeper then has 28 days to make full payment.

The vehicle keeper may submit a written representation (PN cancellation request) to the Council, if it appears that one or more of the grounds (A to L) apply, as set out under Regulation 14 of The Littering from Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018. Representation must be submitted within the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the penalty notice is given.

Any penalty notices not paid within the agreed payment period, will increase by 100% (from £500 to £1000) with effect from the day after the last day of the agreed fixed penalty payment period.

Further detail of representations against civil penalty notices can be found in the The Littering from Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018.

Only one penalty, either a civil penalty notice, or a fixed penalty notice in lieu of prosecution may be issued in respect of any “one” littering offence.

A prosecution for a littering offence will result in a criminal record and may result in a fine of up to £2,500. Buckinghamshire Council will seek full cost recovery, including officer time, legal costs and any clearance costs incurred, and will only prosecute where it is in the public interest to do so.

An FPN issued under Criminal Law provisions is offered in lieu of prosecution, with no formal right of appeal. If an alleged offender does not accept their liability for the offence, there is no requirement on them to pay the fixed penalty. If a fixed penalty is unpaid, the case should be prosecuted, unless they have given a convincing reason to the Council for it not to do so. This is consistent with schedule 11N.14 of the DEFRA Codes of Practice on Litter & Refuse.

For a Littering From Vehicle penalty notice appeal, the vehicle keeper may submit a written representation to the Council, if they believe that one or more of the grounds (A to L) apply, as set out under Regulation 14 of The Littering from Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018. Representation must be submitted within the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the penalty notice is issued.

If the Council accepts the appeal (as one or more of the grounds apply), the penalty notice will be cancelled, and no further action will be taken. If the Council rejects the appeal (as one or more of the grounds do not apply), the vehicle keeper will be sent a Notice of Rejection.

The vehicle keeper who is issued a Notice of Rejection may appeal against it and must apply to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal to register their appeal. The appeal must be made within the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which the notice of rejection is issued.

Find out more about appeals on the Traffic Penalty Tribunal website.