Decision details

To make some minor amendments to the Public Protection Enforcement Policy which was originally approved by Cabinet on 24 May 2011.

The intention of the policy is to ensure that enforcement action is compliant with all relevant legislation and guidelines, and is fair, clear, transparent, consistent, proportionate,risk based and robust. It relates to any enforcement actions taken by officers in Public Protection Services, and establishes a consistent approach regarding the use of both formal and informal mechanisms to achieve effective and efficient compliance with relevant legislation. This will assist local businesses contributing to supporting the economy as outlined in the council’s business plan.

The proposed decision relates to making some minor changes to the policy to reflect the recent Regulators’ Code published by the Government’s Better Regulation Delivery Office under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006, which replaces the Regulators’ Compliance Code. The new code provides a clear, flexible and risk based framework for how regulators across a wide range of public bodies should engage with those they regulate.

The decision was published on 9 September 2014 and will come into force on 17 September 2014.

Minor amendments are required to the Public Protection Enforcement Policy to comply with the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006.

As the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 requires local authorities to comply with the Regulators’ Code the council has no option but to amend its enforcement policy to refer to the latest guidance.

Consultation has taken place at a national level by the Better Regulation Delivery Office on the proposal to publish the Regulators’ Code.