West Suffolk Enforcement Policy consultation 2018/19

Audience: Public, West Suffolk residents and stakeholders

This consultation is now closed. It was open from 30 October 2018 to 11 December 2018.

As you may be aware, Forest Heath District Council and St Edmundsbury Borough Council are preparing to become a single West Suffolk Council in April 2019 and their policies need to be harmonised before this point, including the current enforcement policies.

As a local authority we are obliged under the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Act 2006 to have an overarching policy for all enforcement activity carried out by our officers. Included in the term enforcement are the ways we work with businesses and others in an advisory capacity in addition to licensing and other formal enforcement action. As things stand, there are differences in the level of details captured in the current overarching policies. A new policy has been drafted for West Suffolk to align the principles set out in the two current policies. This draft aims to be concise and therefore does not contain the following service-specific details set out in St Edmundsbury borough Council's corporate enforcement policy, as these are already captured in separate West Suffolk policies:

  • Contact details for specific services (these can be found on the council website where appropriate)
  • Appendices:
    • Financial penalties outlined by certain Acts (Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005, The Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996 and the Health Act 2006
    • Certain service specific policies
    • Regulation of Investigatory Powers (RIPA) policy

The draft West Suffolk Enforcement Policy continues to outline how our regulatory activity supports the objectives of the council to safeguard individual and community health and well-being and to engage effectively with businesses to provide confidence in investment in our area and to support business success. Our regulatory activities are undertaken for the collective benefit of all residents and business.

The following draft policy for West Suffolk Council has been created through reviewing the current policies and consulting officers across council services. We welcome views on the draft policy, especially from local businesses and residents. Please complete the Draft enforcement policy survey by 5pm on 17 December 2018.