§ Andy KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions have been initiated(a) by and (b) against local authorities in England and Wales under section 79(1) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. [20609]
§ Mr. MeacherSection 79(1) lists the statutory nuisances covered by the Environmental Protection Act 1990, although formally prosecution comes under section 80, and cases against local authorities under section 82.
276WThe information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) collect statistics from a sample of local authorities. The latest figures published on 20 December 2001 show that for 2000–01 there were in the order of 238,000 complaints to local authorities resulting in the order of 440 prosecutions. These are broken down as shown in the table.
Complaints Prosecutions Domestic 169,810 313 Industrial 11,475 4 Commercial/leisure 34,745 78 Construction/demolition 10,822 39 Vehicles 5,172 2 Other machinery/equipment in streets 6,501 4 The number of prosecutions against local authorities on grounds of statutory nuisance are not held centrally.