Draft Enforcement Policy

Overview

Environmental Health has an enforcement role across a wide range of functions including Food Safety, Health and Safety, Trading Standards, Licensing, Private Sector Housing and Noise and Nuisance. Whilst the enforcement tools available to each team may differ depending on the legislation, there are general overarching principles that govern good enforcement and apply to all services within the Environmental Health department.

The Regulators Code requires regulators to publish their Enforcement Policy explaining how we approach compliance and respond to non-compliance. The department therefore has an Enforcement Policy in place that aims to:

• Set out how we, as regulators, meet our responsibilities under the statutory provisions and guidance that we enforce by setting out the Council’s approach
• Provide transparency in our enforcement activities
• Ensure that enforcement activities are targeted where needed
• Help businesses and individuals to understand our objectives and methods for achieving compliance and the criteria we consider when deciding the most appropriate response to a breach of legislation.
• Explain how we take a graduated approach to enforcement
• Provide a framework for enforcement officers within Environmental Health to ensure their powers are transparent and consistently applied.

Why are we updating the Enforcement Policy?

The Environmental Health department are currently working to a legacy Enforcement Policy, key changes to the policy include:

• General updates
• Simplifying the language used to ensure the content is clear to those reading and using the Policy
• Updates to ensure it remains relevant to the activities being regulated
• Addition of a new Trading Standards Enforcement Policy in relation to lettings legislation
• Addition of a new clause detailing the use of social media and online resources for enforcement purposes

Why your views matter

There is a legal background to the way in which we use our enforcement powers; the Regulators’ Code provides a clear framework for enforcement authorities to work to. The code includes how we develop and implement our own enforcement policies and what must be included and aims to demonstrate to the public and other stakeholders that, in taking such decisions, that there is proportionality in our actions, consistency in our approach and transparency in the process. 

This draft policy aims to ensure that businesses, residents, and other stakeholders know what to expect from the services within Environmental Health, and as required by the Regulators Code, that we consult with those we regulate in relation to the guidance and policy that we produce.

We want to make sure the Enforcement Policy is clear, and that businesses and other stakeholders understand it. We therefore welcome your views on the draft policy.

We want to hear your views so please:

• Read our draft Enforcement Policy detailed below
• Complete our online survey by following the link in the 'Give us your views' section at the bottom of this page.

If you have any queries, require a paper copy of the background information or require assistance in other languages, please contact Samantha Cowell in the Environmental Health team using the contact details in the 'Contact' section of this page.