Public Health Enforcement Policy
Priority outcomes
The Licensing, Environmental Health and Private Sector Housing functions undertaken by our Public Health team assist in contributing towards several priority outcomes; including the health and resilience of our residents, growth of the economy and fairness.
Service policy
This policy details our approach to the use of our enforcement powers, whether that is criminal prosecution at one end of the spectrum or informal warnings and advice at the other. It also gives clarity as to how the unit will achieve compliance by setting out options and the criteria used to determine the most appropriate, effective and efficient response to breaches of legislation.
The purpose of this policy is also to ensure compliance with legal requirements and the principles of good enforcement. It also serves to inform investigating officers and decision-makers of the framework under which they operate, in addition to providing information to those people, organisations and businesses which are regulated and those protected by regulation. The policy cannot be absolutely prescriptive because the circumstances of each individual case and the evidence available are likely to vary. However, this policy should give clear guidance as what to expect by way of enforcement.
The policy itself is set out in a number of related documents including an overarching policy and a number of supplementary documents covering specific regulatory functions (which should be read in conjunction with the overarching policy itself) and are provided below: