littering enforcement
Case reference FOI2026/02505
Received 16 October 2026
Published 11 November 2026
Request
I am requesting information about the council's enforcement of littering offences and civil penalties for littering from vehicles.
This request draws on the reporting categories set out in Defra's statutory guidance, Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them.
Please provide the information separately for the following periods:
2023/24: 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
2024/25: 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
2025/26: 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
2026/27 (partial year): 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026
For clarity, please distinguish between:
Litter fixed penalty notices (FPNs): FPNs issued in connection with the criminal offence of littering under sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Civil penalties for littering from vehicles: Civil penalties imposed on vehicle keepers under the Littering From Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018, or the equivalent applicable legislation in London.
Please exclude penalties for other offences, including fly-tipping, waste duty-of-care breaches, dog fouling and public spaces protection order breaches, unless these cannot be separated from the requested figures.
For the number of penalties issued, please provide figures for notices issued during each reporting period.
For outcomes (including payments and cancellations), where possible, please provide figures relating to notices issued during each reporting period, using their latest recorded status at the time of responding.
If outcomes cannot readily be linked to the year of issue, please instead provide the number of penalties paid or cancelled during each reporting period, regardless of their original issue date, and indicate which reporting basis has been used.
For financial receipts, please provide the amounts received during each reporting period, regardless of when the original notice was issued.
Please include penalties issued by private contractors or external enforcement providers acting on the council's behalf in all relevant figures. Where information is held by a contractor on the council's behalf, please include it in the response in accordance with section 3(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Request:
-
Does the council currently carry out its own litter enforcement activity (e.g. issuing fixed penalty notices for littering), use any external/private companies or contractors, or a mixture of both? Since 2023/24, have there been any changes in these arrangements? Please provide details.
-
Since 1 April 2023, has the council suspended, paused or discontinued littering enforcement at any point, or experienced any factors limiting its enforcement activity, such as staffing shortages, recruitment difficulties or budget constraints? If so, please provide brief details of the circumstances and the periods affected, where this information is recorded.
-
Please provide the following figures for litter fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for each reporting period, using the reporting basis specified above.
|
Type |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
2026/27* |
|
a) Number of FPNs issued |
||||
|
b) Number of FPNs issued during the reporting period that have since been paid, either in full or at a discounted rate |
||||
|
c) Number of FPNs issued during the reporting period that have since been cancelled or withdrawn |
||||
|
d) Number of prosecutions commenced during each reporting period for littering offences under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 |
||||
|
e) Total gross receipts from litter FPN payments |
-
Please provide the following figures for civil penalties for littering from vehicles for each reporting period, using the reporting basis specified above.
|
Type |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
2026/27* |
|
a) Number of civil penalty notices issued. |
||||
|
b) Number of civil penalty notices issued during the reporting period that have since been paid either in full or at a discounted rate |
||||
|
c) Number of civil penalty notices issued during the reporting period that have since been cancelled or withdrawn. |
||||
|
d) Number of civil penalty cases referred for debt recovery or enforcement during each reporting period following non-payment, if separately recorded |
||||
|
e) Total gross receipts from civil penalty payments |
-
Please provide the council's total annual gross expenditure on littering enforcement for each reporting period, if this information is already separately recorded.
|
Type |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
2026/27* |
|
Gross expenditure on littering enforcement |
Notes on the request
Where the information is already publicly available, please provide a direct link to the relevant figures.
Where information is not held in the precise format requested, please provide the closest equivalent information already recorded, identifying any differences in definition or coverage.
Please distinguish between:
- A recorded figure of zero.
- Information not held or not separately recorded.
- An enforcement power or activity that the council does not use.
I am not asking the council to create new information, produce estimates or undertake manual reviews of individual case files where this would exceed the appropriate cost limit.
If any part of the request is likely to exceed the cost limit, I would welcome advice and assistance on how to narrow it while retaining the remaining information.
Please provide the requested figures in the tables above.
Response
I am requesting information about the council's enforcement of littering offences and civil penalties for littering from vehicles.
This request draws on the reporting categories set out in Defra's statutory guidance, Litter enforcement powers: when and how to use them.
Please provide the information separately for the following periods:
2023/24: 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024
2024/25: 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025
2025/26: 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
2026/27 (partial year): 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2026
For clarity, please distinguish between:
Litter fixed penalty notices (FPNs): FPNs issued in connection with the criminal offence of littering under sections 87 and 88 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
Civil penalties for littering from vehicles: Civil penalties imposed on vehicle keepers under the Littering From Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018, or the equivalent applicable legislation in London.
Please exclude penalties for other offences, including fly-tipping, waste duty-of-care breaches, dog fouling and public spaces protection order breaches, unless these cannot be separated from the requested figures.
For the number of penalties issued, please provide figures for notices issued during each reporting period.
For outcomes (including payments and cancellations), where possible, please provide figures relating to notices issued during each reporting period, using their latest recorded status at the time of responding.
If outcomes cannot readily be linked to the year of issue, please instead provide the number of penalties paid or cancelled during each reporting period, regardless of their original issue date, and indicate which reporting basis has been used.
For financial receipts, please provide the amounts received during each reporting period, regardless of when the original notice was issued.
Please include penalties issued by private contractors or external enforcement providers acting on the council's behalf in all relevant figures. Where information is held by a contractor on the council's behalf, please include it in the response in accordance with section 3(2)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Request:
-
Does the council currently carry out its own litter enforcement activity (e.g. issuing fixed penalty notices for littering), use any external/private companies or contractors, or a mixture of both? Since 2023/24, have there been any changes in these arrangements? Please provide details.
Answer: The service area has advised that the Council does not have a dedicated litter enforcement team, nor does it employ external companies or contractors to undertake this work. Litter enforcement forms part of the wider responsibilities of the Community Protection Team, which may issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) where an offence is witnessed directly or where sufficient intelligence or evidence is available to support enforcement action.
-
Since 1 April 2023, has the council suspended, paused or discontinued littering enforcement at any point, or experienced any factors limiting its enforcement activity, such as staffing shortages, recruitment difficulties or budget constraints? If so, please provide brief details of the circumstances and the periods affected, where this information is recorded.
Answer: In 2024, an internal restructure resulted in the merger of the Community Protection Team and the Environmental Health Pollution Team. As part of this change, a Principal Officer post was lost, requiring management responsibilities to be shared across both service areas. Consequently, the remaining Principal Officer's time is divided between overseeing the Pollution Team and the Community Protection Team.
-
Please provide the following figures for litter fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for each reporting period, using the reporting basis specified above.
Answer:
|
Type |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
2026/27* |
|
a) Number of FPNs issued |
14 |
15 |
6 |
2 |
|
b) Number of FPNs issued during the reporting period that have since been paid, either in full or at a discounted rate |
12 |
15 |
6 |
2 |
|
c) Number of FPNs issued during the reporting period that have since been cancelled or withdrawn |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
d) Number of prosecutions commenced during each reporting period for littering offences under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
e) Total gross receipts from litter FPN payments |
£1,200 |
£1.500 |
£685 |
£200 |
-
Please provide the following figures for civil penalties for littering from vehicles for each reporting period, using the reporting basis specified above.
Answer:
|
Type |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
2026/27* |
|
a) Number of civil penalty notices issued. |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
b) Number of civil penalty notices issued during the reporting period that have since been paid either in full or at a discounted rate |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
c) Number of civil penalty notices issued during the reporting period that have since been cancelled or withdrawn. |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
d) Number of civil penalty cases referred for debt recovery or enforcement during each reporting period following non-payment, if separately recorded |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
e) Total gross receipts from civil penalty payments |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-
Please provide the council's total annual gross expenditure on littering enforcement for each reporting period, if this information is already separately recorded.
Answer:
|
Type |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
2026/27* |
|
Gross expenditure on littering enforcement |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Notes on the request
Where the information is already publicly available, please provide a direct link to the relevant figures.
Where information is not held in the precise format requested, please provide the closest equivalent information already recorded, identifying any differences in definition or coverage.
Please distinguish between:
- A recorded figure of zero.
- Information not held or not separately recorded.
- An enforcement power or activity that the council does not use.
I am not asking the council to create new information, produce estimates or undertake manual reviews of individual case files where this would exceed the appropriate cost limit.
If any part of the request is likely to exceed the cost limit, I would welcome advice and assistance on how to narrow it while retaining the remaining information.
Please provide the requested figures in the tables above.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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