Grant Thornton fined over pension audit
08/04/2024 Grant Thornton has been fined by the Financial Reporting Council for ‘failures’ in its audit of an unnamed local authority’s pension fund. |
Fly-tipping fines ring-fenced
02/04/2024 Funds raised from fly-tipping fines will be ring-fenced to help keep communities tidy, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. |
Only one in 20 illegal vape sellers fined
13/02/2024 Illegal vapes were seized from nearly 3,000 unscrupulous sellers last year, but only one in 20 were issued fines, new FOI requests have revealed. |
Council criticised for punishing rural weeing
30/01/2024 Peeing in the countryside is an act of littering, a Hertfordshire borough council insists. |
Council’s parking fine income up 50%
08/01/2024 Buckinghamshire Council brought in £1.4m from parking fines in 2023, a 50% increase compared to 2022. |
Fly-tipping enforcement up as incidents drop
24/10/2023 Councils carried out more enforcement action in response to illegal waste dumping last year as the number of reported incidents fell. |
MPs call for SEND support to tackle school absences
27/09/2023 MPs have called for more support for pupils with special educational needs (SEND) to tackle school absences and a consistent approach to the issuing of fines. |
Newcastle clean air zone brings in £500k
27/09/2023 Newcastle City Council’s clean air zone (CAZ) has brought in over £500,000 in the first six months of its operation, new figures from the council reveal. |
Landlord fined £285,000 after council investigates illegal homes
01/09/2023 A landlord who crammed vulnerable tenants into tiny flats above a Stoke Newington pub has been fined £285,000 after Hackney Council enforcement officers intervened. |
Housing Ombudsman orders Waverley to pay £13,000
11/08/2023 Waverley Borough Council has been ordered to pay nearly £13,000 after delays meant a resident was forced to install disability adaptations themselves. |
Council fined after family of six forced to share bedroom
01/08/2023 The Housing Ombudsman has fined Barking and Dagenham Council £6,000 after its failure to deal with damp and mould resulted in a family sharing a bedroom. |
London Councils signals hike in parking and traffic penalties
01/08/2023 Cross-party group London Councils is consulting on penalty charges for parking and traffic offences, and says current charges are not high enough. |
Town centre parking charges to be reviewed
31/07/2023 Changes to parking charges and debt recovery fees could soon be introduced as the Government looks at ways to better regulate the private parking industry. |
Hertfordshire CC refuses to allow ULEZ signs
26/07/2023 Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) signs and enforcement cameras will not be permitted in Hertfordshire, the council leader has told London Mayor Sadiq Khan. |
Councils issue record number of finds for 'busybody' offences
20/07/2023 Local authorities issued the highest ever number of penalties for anti-social behaviour – or for what have been branded 'busybody' offences – in 2022. |
Cap on fly-tipping fines should be ‘removed altogether’
12/07/2023 The Government’s decision to increase the maximum fines for fly-tipping falls short of what is required to crackdown on offenders, council chiefs have said. |
Plymouth fined £200,000 over workers’ hand conditions
10/07/2023 Plymouth City Council (PCC) has been fined £200,000 after its failures to comply with legislation led to employees developing hand and wrist conditions. |
Maximum fine for fly-tippers more than doubles
10/07/2023 The maximum amount local authorities will be able to fine people who are caught littering, fly-tipping or graffitiing has increased. |
Thames Water fined millions over roadwork problems
03/07/2023 London councils fined Thames Water more than £12m for late or badly managed roadworks over a five-year period, according to data obtained by the Green Party. |
Bus lane fines making councils up to £3.7m a year
03/07/2023 Bus lanes and bus gates meant councils received up to £3.7m from penalty charge notices (PCNs) in 2022, according to new research by Forbes Advisor. |
Fly-tipping fines to more than double in Scotland
29/06/2023 Fines for fly-tipping will more than double to £500 as part of ‘bold action’ to reduce waste dumped in Scotland. |
Childcare provider fined record £225,000
22/05/2023 Britain’s biggest childcare provider given record fine after mouse droppings were found in the kitchen and the children’s play areas of one of its nurseries. |
Council apologises for fining entire car park
17/05/2023 A local authority has apologised after all the vehicles in a car park were mistakenly issued with fines. |
Southwark ordered to pay £10,000 over housing issues
17/05/2023 Southwark Council has been ordered to pay almost £10,000 to two residents after severe maladministration findings were issued by the Housing Ombudsman. |
Drivers at risk of unfair yellow box fines
03/05/2023 Drivers are at risk of being fined unfairly due to problems with nine-in-10 yellow box junctions councils want to enforce, the RAC warns. |
Woman fined £1,500 for discarded cigarette butt
21/04/2023 A Bristol woman has been fined a total of nearly £1,500 after throwing her cigarette butt on the ground outside a supermarket. |
Islington Council scraps library fines
17/04/2023 Islington residents who have an overdue library book can now return it without fear of being penalized, the local authority has said. |
Lambeth council fined £20k after child misses operation
13/04/2023 A young person spent three years in unnecessary pain because delays by Lambeth council meant they could not have a crucial operation, the ombudsman has ruled. |
Fly-tipping incidents skyrocket by a third
05/04/2023 The number of fly-tipping incidents has increased by a third since 2010, a new analysis by Labour has revealed. |
Wandsworth Council stopped from issuing ‘unlawful’ fines
15/02/2023 The DfT has stopped Wandsworth Council from ‘unlawful’ fining of speeding drivers after the council became the first local authority to issue tickets. |
Councillors’ parking tickets binned by officers in Liverpool
08/02/2023 Council officers in Liverpool binned dozens of parking tickets given to councillors without going through any formal process, according to a local newspaper. |
Council hands back £100,000 of fines after road sign U-turn
01/02/2023 Lambeth Council has handed back £100,000 to drivers who were fined because of its confusing road signs. |
Charge manufacturers for fly-tipping clean up, council chiefs say
01/02/2023 Manufacturers should contribute to the cost of cleaning up fly-tipped rubbish to help tackle the health risk posed by the illegal practice, council chiefs say. |
Triple on-the-spot littering fines, think tank urges
23/01/2023 A think tank has called for a ‘revitalised’ litter strategy including tripling the level of fines and ranking councils on enforcement of anti-littering laws. |
Council seeks court order to crack down on ‘street cruising’
22/12/2022 Birmingham City Council is seeking a High Court order to ban street cruising from all city roads. |
Redbridge Council first council to issue fine for catcalling
21/12/2022 Redbridge Council has become the first local authority in London to issue a fixed penalty notice for sexual harassment. |
Council fined £30,000 after disabled man left in unsuitable accommodation
24/11/2022 Birmingham council has apologised after a disabled man was left in unsuitable temporary accommodation for eight years. |
Council launches traffic safety scheme in UK first
21/10/2022 Wandsworth council has launched a pilot scheme that will see drivers fined by the local authority if they speed in a 20mph zone. |
Council apologises for care home top-fees
20/10/2022 Birmingham City Council has apologised ‘unreservedly’ for wrongly charging a family care home fees for more than 11 years. |
Council awarded £68,000 after illegal tree felling
15/09/2022 Eastleigh Borough Council has secured its largest ever fine and costs totalling over £68,000 after a local landowner cut down some trees. |
Councils encouraging ‘cut throat’ market in enforcement
22/08/2022 Nine in 10 councils who employ private enforcement companies to issue penalties for offences such as littering are incentivising the issuing of fines. |
Council chiefs call for tougher punishments for fly tippers
19/08/2022 Local authority leaders have called for the introduction of tougher sentences to help in the fight against fly tipping. |
Why councils must not relax data protection standards
12/07/2022 Rob Batters warns councils should not relax data protection standards in response to the ICO's new strategy. |
Failing social housing landlords to face unlimited fines
08/06/2022 Failing social housing landlords will face unlimited fines and 'Ofsted-style' inspections under new powers announced today. |
DfT seeks ‘fair' moving traffic offence enforcement
01/06/2022 The Department for Transport has issued statutory guidance for local authorities outside London on applying for and using civil enforcement powers for bus lane and moving traffic contraventions. |
Government to penalise companies for ‘plague of potholes’
13/05/2022 The Government will introduce new measures to penalise companies responsible for leaving potholes on the roads after carrying out street works. |
Councils to be banned from charging for disposal of DIY waste
11/04/2022 The Government has proposed banning local authorities from charging for the disposal of DIY waste from households. |
Council fined £8,000 after cliff collapse
07/04/2022 Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council has been fined for undertaking work without a marine licence in the wake of a partial cliff collapse. |
Council awarded £1.3m in damages over leaky roof
07/04/2022 An adjudicator has awarded £1.3m in damages to Wakefield Council following long standing issues with the design of an academy. |
Council criticised after vulnerable teen misses year of education
03/03/2022 A teenager with special educational needs has missed out on a year’s education because the county council did not plan for her to move schools after Year 11. |
Khan calls for bigger fines to punish rogue landlords
17/02/2022 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for bigger fines to be issued to rogue landlords as part of a move to protect the capital’s renters. |
DfT begins moving traffic powers handover
01/02/2022 The Department for Transport has released new regulations to give English councils outside of London the power to enforce moving traffic violations, including issuing fines for stopping in a box junction. |
Five companies fined £33m over prepaid cards cartel
20/01/2022 Five companies that provided local authorities with prepaid cards for vulnerable people have been fined more than £33m by the UK regulator for ‘cartel behaviour’. |
Council ‘disappointed’ with tribunal decision over charging scheme
12/01/2022 Halton Borough Council has defended its decision to issue 11 fines to one individual in relation to an enforcement scheme on the Mersey Gateway Bridge. |
Council found guilty of ‘maladministration’ over leaky roof complaint
11/01/2022 The London Borough of Ealing has said it is reviewing its working practices after the Housing Ombudsman found that it was guilty of ‘severe maladministration’. |
Councils call for increase in parking penalty charges
31/08/2021 Local authorities across the UK have called for an increase in parking penalty charges to make them a more effective deterrent. |
Council chiefs call for fly-tipping fines to be increased ‘significantly’
09/08/2021 Local authority leaders have called for fly-tipping fines to be increased ‘significantly’ as part of the battle against waste crime. |
Councils urged to take more action against criminal landlords
04/08/2021 Over half of local authorities in England have failed to use new powers to issue civil penalties against rogue landlords in the past three years, a new survey has revealed. |
Councils levy over £1m fines for COVID offences
18/06/2021 Councils have issued over £1m in fines to businesses for COVID offences, an investigation has unveiled. |
Councils deal with 20,000 fly-tipping incidents a week
17/05/2021 Council chiefs call for tougher sentences for people caught illegally dumping rubbish as figures show councils deal with 20,000 fly-tipping incidents a week. |
Insurer compares the market for parking fines
19/01/2021 Councils are issuing fines worth an average of £850,000 a year for parking offences, with one raking in more than £10m, according to new research. |
York council issues warning after police hand out ‘shocking’ number of COVID fines
23/12/2020 City of York police have issued what they describe as a ‘shocking’ number of fines to tier 3 residents who visited the city last weekend. |
Council given power to tackle antisocial lorry parking
11/12/2020 Kent County Council has been given new powers to clamp and fine lorries that are illegally or inappropriately parked. |
London council fines two rogue landlords £110,500
22/10/2020 Islington Council has fined two landlords £110,500 for providing dangerous and sub-standard housing. |
Indoor inter-household mixing banned in North East
29/09/2020 People living in several areas in the North East will be fined if they mix indoors with individuals from different households, the Government has announced. |
Psychiatrists call for suspension of fines for children who can’t attend school
26/08/2020 The Royal College of Psychiatrists has called for the suspension of fines for children who can't attend school due to Covid-related anxiety. |
London boroughs and Cardiff Council take £58.2m from moving traffic offences
19/08/2020 Councils in London and Cardiff made £58.2m from moving traffic offences in 2018/19, according to the RAC. |
Council hits out at ‘flawed’ bus lane review
18/08/2020 Newcastle City Council has warned that a review into its bus lane signage contains a ‘number of legal errors’. |
Council fined after fatal tree branch accident
21/07/2020 Wirral Borough Council has been fined £100,000 after a pregnant woman lost her baby when a tree branch fell and hit her moving vehicle. |
Homeowner fined over £60,00 for ‘wilful damage’ to a protected tree
24/12/2019 A homeowner who damaged a 90-year-old tree so much that it had to be felled has been fined over £60,000 by magistrates. |
Council fined over £1m after child suffers ‘life-changing head injury'
05/12/2019 Hampshire County Council has been fined £1.4m after a child suffered a head injury caused by an unsecured street bollard. |
Leeds to abolish fines for overdue library books
10/10/2019 Leeds is the latest council to join a growing number abolishing fines for overdue library books. |
Councils urged to fine drivers who leave engines running while parked
07/10/2019 Seven out of ten drivers want to see councils doing more to tackle motorists who leave their engines running when parked, a car insurance company has found. |
Biffa fined for £350,000 over contaminated China shipment
30/09/2019 Waste management firm Biffa has been fined £350,000 for trying to send contaminated household waste to China. |
Council apologises after motorist denied right to challenge parking ticket
26/09/2019 Cherwell DC has apologised ‘unreservedly’ after an investigation revealed that motorists were being denied the right to challenge parking tickets. |
Council to refund hundreds of incorrect parking fines
04/07/2019 Hundreds of parking fines are to be repaid after a council discovered it had imposed them on motorists using free car parks. |
Council threatens fly-tippers with £50,000 fine
25/04/2019 Cheltenham residents have been warned that if they continue to dump their rubbish in the wrong place at the wrong time, they will face a £50,000 fine. |
Councils issue nearly 10,000 fines for ‘anti-social’ behaviour
23/04/2019 Campaigners have called for Public Spaces Protection Orders to be scrapped as new figures reveal there were nearly 10,000 on-the-spot fines issued in 2018. |
City council drops £100 begging fines
18/04/2019 Southampton City Council has decided to remove its £100 fines for begging after finding the penalty had ‘little effect’. |
Council fined for leak of its gang database
05/04/2019 The London Borough of Newham has been fined £145,000 by the data watchdog for revealing personal information on more than 200 people who were on a police database. |
It’s ‘business as usual’ at Mersey bridge, council defiantly insists
14/03/2019 Halton BC has said it is ‘business as usual’ at the Mersey Gateway despite a tribunal decision that the bridge’s crossing charge is 'not a tolling scheme’. |
Council to fine anti-social drivers
08/03/2019 Bradford Council have decided to crack down on drivers who play loud music, rev their engines, or engage in other acts deemed to be anti-social. |
Council apologises for evicting anti-abortion charity
20/02/2019 Lambeth Council have paid £5,000 in damages to an anti-abortion charity after evicting its volunteers and staff from an event in the London borough last year. |
Councils must ensure parking fines are issued correctly, Ombudsman says
31/01/2019 The local government Ombudsman has urged councils to ensure they are using the correct legislation to issue parking fines at country parks. |
Council to reimburse drivers after ‘confusing signs’ lead to fines
24/01/2019 A county council has said it will reimburse the parking fines of drivers who were caught out by ‘confusing’ signs. |
Councils using premium rate phone lines branded 'greedy'
21/01/2019 Campaigners have accused local authorities of being ‘greedy and foolish’ for using premium rate lines for people to pay rent and parking fines. |
Council fined after labourer ‘trapped’ under falling roofing material
17/01/2019 A council has been fined nearly £30,000 after a pack of roof trusses fell on a labourer who was working for the local authority. |
Parking charges increase by £170m in five years
09/01/2019 Council chiefs defend themselves after research reveals local authorities have increased their revenue from parking charges by nearly £170m in five years, while simultaneously cutting road improvements. |
New £400 fly-tipping penalty comes into force
08/01/2019 The new financial penalties for fly-tipping, which could see fines of up to £400 being handed to offenders, are now in force. |
Council fined £27,000 over Legionella case
07/12/2018 A district council has pleaded guilty to a health and safety breach after a leisure centre customer contracted Legionnaire’s Disease. |
Council secures UK’s first Japanese Knotweed prosecution
07/12/2018 A Bristol property owner has become the first person to be prosecuted for failing to control the spread of Japanese Knotweed. |
Whitehall warns against using fly-tipping fines to raise revenue
27/11/2018 The Government has warned financially-strained local authorities against using fly-tipping penalties as a means to raise revenue. |
Whitehall backs ‘one-stop shop’ for appealing private parking fines
26/11/2018 The Government has thrown its weight behind a new independent appeals service for drivers wishing to challenge private parking fines. |
Councils call for power to enforce yellow box junctions
22/11/2018 Motoring campaigners have warned of a massive rise in fines if more councils are given powers to use cameras to catch drivers who stop in yellow box areas at junctions. |
Welsh councils generated £10m profit from parking charges and fines last year
19/11/2018 Conservatives in Wales have accused councils of imposing a 'huge tax on shoppers' after figures revealed they made more than £10m this year from parking charges and fines. |
London penalty charge notices up 10%
15/11/2018 The number of penalty charge notices (PCNs) issued by London’s highway authorities rose by 10% during the last financial year. |
Councils net £42m a year in bus lane fines
14/11/2018 Town hall chiefs have hit back at a report saying councils collected nearly £42m in penalties last year from motorists caught driving in bus lanes. |
Contractor fined £1m after complaints of ‘dirty streets’
01/11/2018 Trafford council has fined a bins contractor £1m after residents raised concerns about dirty streets and overflowing bins. |
Hackney raises £100,000 a week from controversial traffic camera
24/08/2018 It is the ‘responsibility of drivers’ to read signs, Hackney Council argues in response to criticisms that its new traffic cameras are inadequately signposted. |
Council first to fine people for soliciting prostitutes
06/08/2018 An East London council is set to be the first to issue on-the-spot fines for people using prostitutes. |
Shell is helping power the journey towards a circular paving industry with Shell Bitumen LT R, a new product for roads that uses plastics destined for landfill as part of the additives to make the bitumen.
Effective Energy Group is now offering its support to the 40 Local Authorities who have received a share of the £430m to deliver their projects on the ground by surveying properties and installing measures.
Dougie Belmore explains how one of the main interfaces between you and Bacs is about to change.