Background to report:
An enforcement policy allows the Council to inform those it interacts with (both businesses and individuals) how they can expect to be treated when interacting with regulatory officers.
Whilst the vast majority of interventions from ECP result in no enforcement, unfortunately, there is a small minority of individuals and businesses where enforcement action is needed. This enforcement action is need to:
Local Authorities are agents of the state responsible for ensuring compliance with Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments.
Agencies of Central Government such as the FSA, HSE, and DEFRA instruct local authorities how to regulate and require annual returns on the work of the authority. Local Authorities can introduced localised legislative measures such by-laws that govern street trading, or PSPOs (Public Spaces Protection Orders).
The enforcement action taken by ECP has many built it safe guards such as appeals against notices served, a right to a fair trial, investigation undertaken in line with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and when being formally questioned under caution to right to be represented.
The policy was noted by Spatial Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee.