Communities and Environment Enforcement Policy

3.1 The purpose of enforcement action is to ensure action is taken to protect and promote the health and safety of the public and residents, and to protect the environment. Underpinning our enforcement policy are the five principles of good regulation, as defined in section 21 of the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, which we will apply to all enforcement decisions we 
take: 

• Targeting of enforcement action

We will use intelligence and relevant risk assessments to help us prioritise and focus our resources in the areas that need them most and to ensure that persistent offenders are identified quickly.

• Proportionate and reasonable 

We will treat everyone fairly and will ensure that any enforcement action we take is proportionate to the risks involved and the sanctions applied are meaningful. 

• Transparency

We are committed to the provision of information and advice in a format that is accessible and easily understood. 
We will ensure that there is always a clear distinction between those actions necessary to comply with the law and those which we recommend as best practice, as best practice advice is not compulsory for a business to follow. 
Where businesses and individuals have acted against the law we may use publicity in order to raise awareness, to increase compliance and to improve the monitoring of trade practices. 

• Consistency

We will ensure that our enforcement practices are consistent, this means that we will adopt a similar approach in similar circumstances to achieve similar ends. We will have regard to national guidelines in our decision-making processes. 

• Accountability

We will be accountable for the efficiency and effectiveness of our activities and will justify our decisions by ensuring all decisions made are properly reasoned, recorded and based on material evidence. 

3.2 When considering the most appropriate course of action, we will apply the Macrory principles which state that enforcement and penalties should:

• Aim to change the offender's behaviour and deter future non-compliance
• Eliminate any benefit from their non-compliance
• Be proportionate to the nature of the offending and the overall harm, or potential harm, caused
• Ensure that any action taken is appropriate to that particular offender, and may take into account their personal circumstances
• Provide restitution for the harm caused

3.3 Where the individual circumstances of the case require, the Authority may decide to take a course of enforcement which deviates from these principles. In these situations, any decision will be properly reasoned and documented.