Decision

Delegation of the authority to sign the certificate of non-payment to the Head of Safer Communities from the Chief Finance Officer.

Reasons for the decision

The legislation sets out under section 88(8) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (the Act) in any proceedings a certificate must be signed by or on behalf of the Chief Finance Officer of the litter authority stating that the payment of a fixed penalty was or was not received by a certain date to evidence that fact.

As the majority of the administration of Fixed Penalty Notices for littering is undertaken though Safer Communities, with a contractor where appropriate, it is in the interest of efficiency for this responsibility to be delegated from the Chief Finance Officer to the Head of Safer Barnsley.  This will ensure more effective oversight of this process when preparing files to be sent to court.

Alternative options considered

Do Nothing – the responsibility could remain with the Chief Finance Officer.  However, this places an administrative burden ensuring they are aware of/make the appropriate checks.  This is not an efficient use of their time, and more efficiently undertaken by officers more involved in the day to day delivery of the service.