Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am requesting information regarding the Council's environmental enforcement activities (specifically relating to fixed penalty notices issued for offences such as littering, spitting, dog fouling, fly-tipping, and public spaces protection order breaches).
Please provide the information for the last four financial years:
2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25, and 2025/26 to date (or calendar years 2023–2026 if financial year data is unavailable).
Question 1 - Outsourcing & contracts:
a) does the Council contract out its environmental enforcement service to a private third-party provider, or perform these duties in-house?
b) if outsourced, please state the name of the contractor(s) and the start and end date of the current contract in place.
Question 2 - FPN volume: how many fixed penalty notices (FPNs) have been issued in each of the requested years? Please provide a breakdown by offence category (e.g., littering, spitting, dog fouling, fly-tipping, PSPO breaches, etc.).
Question 3 - Revenue generated: what is the total income/revenue (£) received by the Council from environmental FPN payments in each of the requested years? Please provide figures split by category of offence if available.
Question 4 - Representations and appeals:
a) how many FPNs were formally disputed, appealed, or subject to written representations in each of the requested years (broken down by category of offence)?
b) of those disputed/appealed, how many were: i) cancelled / upheld in favour of the recipient (successful) ii) rejected / upheld in favour of the Council (unsuccessful) iii) currently pending an outcome?
Question 5 - Prosecutions: how many individuals/entities have been prosecuted in the magistrates' court for non-payment of FPNs or direct environmental offences in each of the requested years (broken down by category of offence)?
