Petty fines by councils rise 400% in two years

THE number of £100 fines handed out under ‘busybodies’ charter’ laws has risen by 400 per cent in just two years, a report showed yesterday.

There were 9,930 on-the- spot penalties dished out by councils using controversial anti- social behaviour rules last year, compared to 1,906 in 2016.

Among those fined were 20 parents who dropped off their children outside schools in defiance of regulations, five who left their belongings unattended, six people who swore in the street in Canterbury, Kent, and six who were fishing in the wrong places. One north London borough fined a man for asking for casual work in a DIY store car park.

The penalties handed out under Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO), which were first introduced four years ago, also targeted homeless people, street beggars and those consuming alcohol on the street.

The legislation lets councils deal with a certain activity if it has ‘a detrimental effect on the quality of life of those in the locality’.

The figures were gathered from Freedom of Information requests by the Manifesto Club organisation which campaigns against stifling over-regulation. Its director Josie Appleton said that despite new guidelines in 2017 being brought in to prevent the orders being used against vulnerable people, such as rough sleepers, councils were overreaching their powers.

She added: ‘ Our recent FOI requests show that councils are failing to abide by the guidance.

‘Councils are introducing more PSPOs than ever, and they are continuing to target homeless and vulnerable people, as well as everyday activities that are not in themselves harmful. We must conclude that the only remedy to these overbearing powers is a wholescale scrapping of the legislation.’

The report also found councils imposed orders at a rate of 15 a month last year. Concern over PSPOs has followed the disclosure that some authorities are using private companies to collect fines.

Peterborough, Bedford, Hillingdon and Waltham Forest councils, who all hire these firms, accounted for 6,010 ( 61 per cent) of all fines between them.

Peterborough imposed nearly a quarter of the national total – 2,430.

Its spokesman said: ‘Peterborough has more fines because the PSPO areas cover a larger number of offences, including cycling, littering and spitting. In addition, the locations covered by the PSPOs cover a larger geographical area than many other local authorities.’

‘Vulnerable are targeted’