Clause 62 - Community support officers etc
Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill
4:45 pm
Mr Elliot Morley (Minister of State (Environment and Agri-Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Scunthorpe, Labour)
I can certainly give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that no one would be allowed to issue fixed penalty notices unless they had proper authorisation, including identification and preferably a uniform. The hon. Gentleman must take a common sense approach, because such people will have to be made aware of the law, how it is applied and how people are dealt with. An element of training will have to be taken into account.
We were talking about community support officers. They are trained in how to deal with people, and they are given advice and support. If the power is extended, it is important that it is extended to the appropriate people. If it were extended to someone such as a dog warden, I do not know whether they would want the power or whether the extension would be appropriate. It would have to be authorised by the local authority. I would not want the hon. Gentleman to think that the provision would authorise anyone from down the road who would like some powers to issue on-the-spot fines because someone's dog has been annoying him. That is certainly not going to happen; they will need to have the proper authority and identification.
Question put and agreed to.
Clause 62 ordered to stand part of the Bill.
Clauses 63 to 65 ordered to stand part of the Bill.