Environmental Offences (Use of Fixed Penalty Receipts) Regulations 2007

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Environmental Offences (Use of Fixed Penalty Receipts) Regulations 2007. The noble Lord said: I came with a fairly short and interesting speech. When I looked at the regulations and took advice, I worked out that I could do this in no more than two paragraphs, without doing the good people who have spent a long time on this a disservice. They agreed with me. The regulations were originally made in April 2006. The only reason they are being remade now is to take account of the changes in the comprehensive performance assessment on categories for local government. The categories for unitary and county councils have been changed through the harder test—they used to be ““excellent””, ““good””, ““fair”” and ““poor””—to a system of stars, from zero to four. That was introduced on 20 December for the eighth categorisation order—I am glad I did not have to do that one. District councils remain categorised under the old system, and both types of categorisation therefore appear in the regulations. In other words, the sole purpose of this regulation is to convert the ““excellent””, ““good””, ““fair”” and ““poor”” system that was used for local government for enforcement offences and fixed-penalty notices, to the star categories of zero to four for county councils and unitary authorities. There is no change to the fixed penalties; more local authorities are operating them. Fixed-penalty notices are now up to about 38,000 a year, so there is more use of them as they do not involve a criminal offence. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Environmental Offences (Use of Fixed Penalty Receipts) Regulations 2007. 8th Report from the Statutory Instruments Committee.—(Lord Rooker.)