The Criminal Justice (Sentencing) (Licence Conditions) (Amendment) Order 2026
This Order empowers the Environment Agency and Natural England to impose civil sanctions on persons or entities that breach specific environmental regulations in England.
The instrument establishes a framework of fixed and variable monetary penalties, compliance notices, restoration notices, and stop notices, while also allowing for voluntary enforcement undertakings.
It applies to offenses under various statutes, including the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Water Resources Act 1991, and prescribes the procedural requirements for issuing notices, the rights of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, and the methods for debt recovery of unpaid penalties.
Arguments For
The order states that providing civil sanctions offers a more proportionate and flexible response to regulatory breaches compared to criminal prosecution.
Proponents argue that the inclusion of restoration notices ensures that environmental harm is directly remediated by the person responsible.
The document specifies that variable monetary penalties allows the regulator to remove financial benefits gained from non-compliance, thereby discouraging future breaches.
The legislation provides for 'enforcement undertakings,' allowing businesses to voluntarily correct non-compliance and take action to benefit the environment in lieu of a statutory penalty.
Arguments Against
Legal scholars have noted that the broad discretion granted to the regulator in setting 'variable' monetary penalties may lead to inconsistency in application across different regions.
Industry groups have expressed concern that the burden of proof for certain civil sanctions may be lower than in criminal proceedings, while the financial impact remains significant.
Affected parties have raised concerns regarding the practicalities of the appeals process, specifically the costs associated with challenging a regulator's notice in the First-tier Tribunal.
Some environmental advocates argue that civil sanctions might be perceived as a 'cost of doing business' rather than a deterrent, potentially reducing the perceived severity of environmental regulations.
1. Citation, commencement and application
(1) This Order may be cited as the Environmental Civil Sanctions (England) Order 2010; it comes into force on 6th April 2010.
(2) This Order applies in England only.
This section establishes the official name of the legislation and sets its commencement date as 6th April 2010.
It limits the geographic jurisdiction of the Order's provisions exclusively to England.
2. Interpretation
In this Order—
“the Act” means the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008;
“the regulator” means the Environment Agency or Natural England.
This section defines key terms used throughout the document.
It identifies the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 as the primary enabling legislation and specifies that both the Environment Agency and Natural England serve as regulators under this Order.
3. Civil Sanctions
(1) Schedule 1 (fixed monetary penalties) has effect.
(2) Schedule 2 (variable monetary penalties, compliance notices and restoration notices) has effect.
(3) Schedule 3 (stop notices) has effect.
(4) Schedule 4 (enforcement undertakings) has effect.
(5) The regulator may only impose a civil sanction in relation to an offence contained in a relevant enactment (within the meaning of section 4 which was committed on or after 6th April 2010.
This section activates four schedules that detail specific types of civil sanctions, ranging from fixed fines to stop notices and voluntary undertakings.
It restricts the regulator's power to apply these sanctions to offenses committed on or after the date the Order came into force.
4. Relevant offences
The regulator may only impose a civil sanction in relation to an offence under an enactment specified in Schedule 5 where the regulator is specified in that Schedule in relation to that enactment.
This section limits the enforcement powers of the Environment Agency and Natural England to specific environmental laws listed in the fifth schedule.
A regulator can only issue a sanction if they are explicitly paired with the relevant law in that schedule.
10. Appeals
(1) Any appeal under this Order must be made to the First-tier Tribunal.
(2) In any appeal (except in relation to a stop notice) the Tribunal must determine whether the decision or notice was— (a) based on an error of fact; (b) wrong in law; (c) unreasonable; (d) wrong for any other reason.
(3) The Tribunal may— (a) withdraw the notice or decision; (b) confirm the notice or decision; (c) vary the notice or decision; (d) take such steps as the regulator could take in relation to the act or omission giving rise to the notice or decision; (e) remit the decision whether to confirm the notice or decision, or any matter relating to that decision, to the regulator.
This section designates the First-tier Tribunal as the body responsible for hearing appeals against civil sanctions.
It outlines the legal grounds upon which the Tribunal can review a regulator's decision and grants the Tribunal the power to cancel, uphold, or modify the sanctions.
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