Council considering higher fines for littering and fouling

LITTERBUGS and dog owners who don’t clean up their pet’s mess could face higher fines, with the local council considering new penalty guidelines.

Last summer the council announced it had employed the expertise of an enforcement specialist service to increase the number of litter and dog patrols in the area, Waste Investigations Support and Enforcement (WISE).

This included giving WISE officers the same powers the council has to fine offenders.

Currently, the council has the power to fine both those who litter, which includes throwing chewing gum on the ground, and those allow their dog to foul, including those whose dogs foul while straying.

Those fines are £75 for littering and £80 for dog fouling, which is discounted to £50 if paid within ten working days, which was within the legislative guidelines.

However, in December the legislation that allows the council to enforce the fines was changed, which increased the amount it is allowed to fine offenders.

Now, the council has the option of fining offenders between £50 and £200, which was previously between £50 and £80.

Council offers have now begun to review how much the fines should be.

As part of this review, they have been researching how ‘sliding scale schemes’ for fine payments were used in other areas and in other countries.

Using speeding as an example, the report noted Finland and Switzerland deployed a system for speeding offences where fines are based on a person’s salary.

The council is now considering a similar approach, and in the report it gave an example of how this may look.

In this example, those on the lowest scales of income per residence, and those on benefits, would be fined for £50, while those on the highest income scale would be fined £145.

This would come with its own challenges for the council, with the report noting documentation on earnings and each fine would have to be considered on a case-by-case basis.

It also noted staff training and resources would be required if the system was adopted.