"Councils are using their powers to get tough on the minority of people who spoil the local area for everyone else. Fines and on the spot penalties help make sure council tax is kept down and the environment protected"
Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA's Environment Board
London:
Local authorities are issuing more fixed penalty notices for littering than ever before according to figures published today by Defra (Department of the Environment, food and Rural Affairs).
'The Local Government Association (LGA) says that people in England drop millions of tonnes of litter every year which costs the council taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds to clear up. This money would be better spent on other essential local authority services.
The total number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued for litter has risen by 32 per cent from 33,033 in 2005/6 to 43,624 in 2006/07.
In addition the figures show that more litter offenders are paying their fines, which is clearly an an important enforcement issue.
The number of fine payments has risen by 49 per cent over the period from 18,002 in 2005/06 to 26,818 in 2006/07, according to Defra.
Headcams used for evidence gathering in Gloucester (Photo: City of Gloucester)
However, these latest figures show a further 6,704 FPNs were cancelled and a further 3,797 are currently awaiting court action or going through the courts.
Comments
Minister for Local Environment Quality Jonathan Shaw said:
"I'm encouraged to see that more local authorities are using the powers Government has provided to penalise people who are ruining our streets with thoughtless offences like littering.
"But fixed penalty notices are only effective if local authorities take steps to ensure that they are paid - and, if they're not, that effective action is taken at local level. I'm pleased to see that this has followed through in the results with an increase in payment rates, although there is still more to do."
Ian Clayton, Deputy Chief Executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said:
"It's good to see that more fines have been issued and most importantly that more are being paid. Our research has shown that the threat of a fine will encourage people not to litter, but people need to believe that they are going to get caught.
"Fining is a crucial tool in achieving clean streets especially when coupled with campaigning and education."
Cllr Paul Bettison, chairman of the LGA's Environment Board, said:
"Councils are using their powers to get tough on the minority of people who spoil the local area for everyone else. Fines and on the spot penalties help make sure council tax is kept down and the environment protected.
"Litter dropping is by far the biggest environmental crime councils have to deal with. Local authorities are doing their utmost to keep our towns and cities clean and tidy, and will not tolerate people dropping rubbish."
Further information
Case studies on littering and other environmental crimes can be found at http://www.eas.local.gov.uk/
The Defra statistics can be found at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/legislation/fpn/index.htm