Agenda item - Worcestershire Regulatory Services Enforcement Policy 2019

Agenda item

Worcestershire Regulatory Services Enforcement Policy 2019

Minutes:

The Board considered a report that provided information on the proposed Worcestershire Regulatory Services Enforcement Policy 2019.

 

The Head of Regulatory Services explained to Members that in 2011, the then Worcestershire Regulatory Services (WRS) Joint Committee had agreed to support the adoption of a single WRS Enforcement Policy that the service would use in relation to all of its activities.  This policy would be an adjunct to other enforcement policies that each partner authority had for its remaining enforcement activities.  The policy was based on the requirements of the then Regulator’s Compliance Code; the policy would not have contradicted any approach being taken by partners in other areas of enforcement such as planning. 

 

In 2016, when the partnership became a district only arrangement, the Head of WRS had made some minor amendments to the policy and had asked Members of the Board to ratify the amended policy and to recommend adoption of the amended policy by the six partner authorities.

 

It was important that Members were reminded of how decision making on enforcement took place and that Members approved the processes that WRS followed when dealing with such serious matters.  Virtually all of the legislation the service dealt with had criminal sanctions as its ultimate end-point and Members needed to be happy that the processes being followed would apply such sanctions in the right circumstances.

 

Local authorities were encouraged to produce Enforcement Policies for many years so that those regulated knew and understood what to expect.  This was originally driven by the introduction of the Enforcement Concordat, created by LACORS, the Local Government Association’s Regulatory Policy support framework for member authorities, and built upon by the Regulator’s Compliance Code, issued by the Better Regulation Executive; under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006. 

 

The original Regulators Compliance Code was replaced with the Regulator’s Code.  The core of the new Code changed little from the original Regulators Compliance Code, but some aspects were clarified and tidied up.  Whilst this had not changed since the last review, the Head of Service felt that by reviewing the policy every three years it would ensure that Members were aware of the processes that the service followed during regulatory decision making and that this would give them reassurance that the service was taking a fair and equitable approach when dealing with offending.

 

Before putting a case before the Courts, local authorities also needed to have regard to the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which laid down the very basic provisions for evidential sufficiency and public interest before a case could be considered a sound candidate to be taken to Court.

 

The policy, as attached at Appendix 1 to the report, met the criteria of both the Regulators Code and the Code for Crown Prosecutors, which should allow it to easily integrate with existing policies within each of the partner authorities and would allow WRS to operate in a consistent way across the county in relation to all enforcement matters.

 

By adopting a common approach to enforcing the functions discharged by WRS, partners would directly address these concerns of the business community and show that WRS remained a tool that local authorities could use to support their economies in a positive way.

 

In response to Members, the Head of Regulatory Services, clarified that the amended policy would be an adjunct to other enforcement policies that each partner authority had for its remaining enforcement activities. 

 

RESOLVED that, the Worcestershire Regulatory Services Enforcement Policy 2019, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report, be adopted to support decision making within Worcestershire Regulatory Services.

 

RECOMMENDED that, the Council for each Member Authority adopts the Worcestershire Regulatory Services Enforcement Policy 2019, as detailed at Appendix 1 to the report.

 

 

 

Supporting documents: