Our aim is to promote health improvement, sustainable development, the efficient use of resources and to effectively protect and enhance the living, recreational and working conditions of people in Aylesbury Vale. One of the ways we do this is to ensure that everyone complies with the law. Some of the laws we enforce relate to:

• Food hygiene and safety
• Licensing, such as taxis, alcohol, gambling and public entertainment
• Health and safety at work
• Controlling infectious diseases
• Animal welfare and licensing
• Housing

Our environmental health officers are responsible for our prosecutions and can assist if you want to know more about our Prosecutions Register.

How we enforce the law

Our policy meets the Government's standards which set out what you can expect from us when we carry out enforcement. We enforce the law by following the four principles:

Proportionality
We try to take action which is proportionate to the seriousness of the matter.

Consistency
We adopt a consistent approach in enforcement matters. This is not an easy matter as the decision to take enforcement action is a matter of judgement in each case. In making judgements we try to be consistent, by training our staff and liaising with other local authorities.

Transparency
Transparency means helping you understand what is expected of you and what you should expect from us. This involves explaining the difference between legal requirements and advice or guidance based on good practice.

Targeting
We visit those people and organisations whose activities cause the most serious issues or where hazards are the least well controlled.

Giving advice - our commitment to you

We will give a polite and efficient service. Our staff will identify themselves by name and provide a contact point and telephone number. We will ensure that, our enforcement services are effectively co-ordinated to minimise unnecessary overlaps and time delays.

We believe that prevention is better than cure. We will advise you on the law's requirements and help you to act within it, particularly if you are a small or medium sized business.

Enforcement policy references

Our enforcement policy is based on the following:

Enforcement Concordat - Better Regulations Unit, March 1998
Guidance on Food Safety Enforcement Policies - Local Authority Co-ordinating Body on Trading Standards and Food, February 1994
The Code for Crown Prosecutors - Crown Prosecution Service, October 2000
Enforcement Policy Statement - Health & Safety Commission 1995
Home Office Circular - 18/1994
Enforcement Review - Better Regulation task force 1999

Date Updated: 11/03/08