Fixed penalty notices

The request was successful.

Dear Birmingham City Council,

I would like to request the following information:

- How many fixed penalty notices have been issued by Officers on behalf of Birmingham City Council in the last five years (please provide figures separated by year)?
- How are these classified, if at all (e.g. dropping litter etc)?
- How many of these fixed penalty notices have been paid in the 14 days allotted?
- Of those that were not paid in the 14 day period, what were the consequences (e.g. later payment, prosecution)?
- How much revenue has accrued from the issuing of fixed penalty notices in the last five years?
- What has this money been spent on/is it ring fenced for spending in any particular area?

Yours faithfully,

Callum Bruce

REGFOI, Birmingham City Council

Dear Mr Bruce

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information

Reference No: 16385

 

Thank you for your request, which was received on 20^th February 2017, for
information held by the Council under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  We will respond to you within 20 working days.

 

Where Birmingham City Council is the copyright holder of any information
that may be released, re-use for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes is permitted without further reference to the City Council. Where
the re-use is for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, the applicant
should notify the City Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms
for re-use.

 

If you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact
me on 0121 303 9361, quoting the reference number above

 

SENT ON BEHALF OF:

Regulation and Enforcement – FOI

Place Directorate

Birmingham City Council

PO Box 16586

Birmingham

B33 3EH

 

Tel: 0121 303 9360

Email: [1][email address]

 

"Locally accountable and responsive fair regulation for all - achieving a
safe, healthy, clean, green and fair trading city for residents, business
and visitors"

[2]http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/regulatoryc...

 

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References

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1. mailto:[email address]
2. http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/regulatoryc...

FOI Mailbox, Birmingham City Council

Dear Mr Bruce

Further to your request, Birmingham City Council employ staff in a number
of roles where fixed penalty notices may be part of their remit e.g.
Welfare Officers who serve fixed penalty notices for non-attendance of
children at school, trading standards officers who may serve fixed penalty
notices for breaches relating to energy performance certificates.  If all
enforcement officers who may issue FPNs are included then the time taken
to establish the details will be well over 18 hours.  Could you therefore
please clarify

•       Are you interested in enforcement officers who may issue a
specific type of fixed penalty notice?  Is so which type?
•       If you are interested in all officers who serve FPNs

Please can you forward your response as soon as possible.

Regards

Corporate Information Governance Team

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Dear FOI Mailbox,

I am interested those that issue fines for litter etc (whatever category that fits into) - if you are able to send through a list of categories (without any data - just how they would be classified) I can specify.

Yours sincerely,

Callum Bruce

REGFOI, Birmingham City Council

Dear Callum Bruce

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION – 16385

 

I am writing in respect of your recent enquiry for information held by the
Authority under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.   
Please find our responses to your questions  below.

 

- How many fixed penalty notices have been issued by Officers on behalf of
Birmingham City Council in the last five years (please provide figures
separated by year)?

 

The number of fixed penalty notices issued by Officers from Regulation and
Enforcement are reported to the Licensing and Public Protection Committee
on a monthly basis.  These reports can be accessed via the City Council’s
website at [1]www.birmingham.gov.uk/democracy.  The reports can be found
by clicking on the Committees tab, Regulatory  Committees, Licensing and
Public Protection Committee and then on the date of the report you wish to
look at.  The reports are titled “Fixed Penalty Notices Issued ……”.

 

- How are these classified, if at all (e.g. dropping litter etc)?

 

The figures contained with the reports to the Licensing and Public
Protection Committee are made up of fixed penalty notices issued by
Officers from Regulation and Enforcement for a range of offences
including:

 

Littering

Advancement of waste

Flytipping

Smoking in a smoke free place

Distributing free printed materials without consent

Dog fouling

 

- How many of these fixed penalty notices have been paid in the 14 days
allotted?

 

2011-2012 –    889

2012-2013  - 1,131

2013-2014 – 1,500

2014-2015 – 2,836

2015-2016 – 3,316

 

Fixed penalty notices for offences under the Health Act 2006 have been
excluded from the above statistics as they have a 29 day payment period.

 

- Of those that were not paid in the 14 day period, what were the
consequences (e.g. later payment, prosecution)?

 

In certain circumstances (for example financial hardship) the City Council
may allow an extended time period in which to pay a fixed penalty
notice.   Where payment is not received, the majority of cases are
referred to Birmingham Magistrates Court for prosecution.  Details of
prosecutions brought by Regulation and Enforcement can be found on the
City Council’s website at [2]www.birmingham.gov.uk/democracy.  The reports
can be found by clicking on the Committees tab, Regulatory  Committees,
Licensing and Public Protection Committee and then the date of the report
you wish to look at.  The reports are titled “Prosecution and Cautions –
December 2016……”..  It should be noted that offences under the Health Act
2006 allow a period of up to 29 days in which to make payment.

 

- How much revenue has accrued from the issuing of fixed penalty notices
in the last five years?

 

The City Council can only provide financial information from audited
accounts.  The figures below therefore relate to payments received during
the last five complete financial years.  Due to the high volume of
receipts received in 2014/2015 there were delays in recording this income
onto the City Council’s Financial ledger System.  There has been a
concerted effort to redress this situation with the result that the level
of income record during 2015/2016 was significantly above the income
received during the previous financial year.

 

FPN
Financial Receipts                                
Year  £
2011/12 (76,686.00)
2012/13 (70,169.00)
2013/14 (87,000.00)
2014/15 (225,642.67)
2015/16 (456,287.80)
Gross
Income (915,785.47)

 

 

- What has this money been spent on/is it ring fenced for spending in any
particular area?

 

Receipts received from the payment of fixed penalty fines are used to fund
further enforcement patrols and associated back office administration.

 

If you are not satisfied with the response you may ask for an internal
review.  To do this, please contact Birmingham City Council's central FOI
Team at this address:

 

Corporate DP/FOI Team

Performance and Information (WS)

PO Box 16366

Birmingham

B2 2YY

 

Tel:  0121 303 4876

Email:  [3][Birmingham City Council request email]

 

If subsequently you are not satisfied with the Council’s decision you may
apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the ICO
cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure
provided by the Council. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at
the following address:

 

The Information Commissioner

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

 

Telephone: 01625 545745

Web Address: [4]www.ico.gov.uk

 

Data Protection Act 1998

The information you have provided within your Freedom of Information
request will be held on our database and may also be held within manual
records for a period of 2 years from the date Birmingham City Council
received your request. Any personal data that you provide to Birmingham
City Council will be held in line with the requirements set out within the
Data Protection Act 1998.

 

Re use of Public Sector Information

The information provided is subject to Birmingham City Council copyright,
however, it may be re-used for personal, educational or non-commercial
purposes without further reference to the City Council. If the re-use is
for other purposes, such as commercial re-use, you should notify the City
Council in writing to seek approval or agree terms for re-use. Where
Birmingham City Council does not hold the copyright, it has indicated the
copyright holder. Permission for re-use should be sought from them
directly.

 

 

SENT ON BEHALF OF:

Regulation and Enforcement – FOI

Place Directorate

Birmingham City Council

PO Box 16586

Birmingham

B33 3EH

 

Tel: 0121 303 9360

Email: [5][email address]

 

"Locally accountable and responsive fair regulation for all - achieving a
safe, healthy, clean, green and fair trading city for residents, business
and visitors"

[6]http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/regulatoryc...

 

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References

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1. http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/democracy
2. http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/democracy
3. mailto:[Birmingham City Council request email]
4. http://www.ico.gov.uk/
5. mailto:[email address]
6. http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/regulatoryc...