Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024

18 Littering from a vehicle

(1) The Environmental Protection Act 1990 is modified as follows.

(2) After section 88B insert—

“88C Littering from a vehicle: Scottish civil penalty regime

(1) An authorised officer of a litter authority may impose a civil penalty charge on the keeper of a vehicle if satisfied on the balance of probabilities that—

(a) an offence of leaving litter under section 87 (“an act of littering”) has been committed from the vehicle, and

(b) the vehicle was on land within the litter authority’s area at the time that the act of littering was committed.

(2) For the purposes of this section, the keeper of a vehicle—

(a) means the person by whom the vehicle is kept at the time when an act of littering occurs, and

(b) in the case of a registered vehicle is to be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to be the registered keeper.

(3) The keeper's liability to pay a civil penalty charge notice to the authority arises when an authorised officer of a litter authority gives to the keeper written notice requiring payment of the charge (“a civil penalty charge notice”).

(4) No civil penalty charge notice may be given—

(a) after the end of the period of 3 months beginning with the day on which the act of littering in question occurred, or

(b) if action has been taken under section 87 or section 88 against a person in respect of the same act of littering, regardless of—

(i) whether or not the person is the vehicle’s keeper,

(ii) whether or not the action is ongoing,

(iii) the outcome of the action.

(5) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make provision—

(a) for the amount that may be imposed as a civil penalty charge,

(b) for discounts and surcharges,

(c) as to the purposes for which sums received by an authority by way of civil penalty charge may be used,

(d) about the form and content of a civil penalty charge notice,

(e) about the procedure to be followed in giving a civil penalty charge notice,

(f) conferring rights to make representations about and to bring an appeal against a civil penalty charge notice,

(g) about the circumstances in which a civil penalty charge notice may or must be cancelled,

(h) about the procedure to be followed in cancelling a civil penalty charge notice,

(i) about the refund of sums paid by way of civil penalty charge,

(j) about exemptions from liability,

(k) whether and how an authority must keep and publish accounts in respect of sums received by way of civil penalty charge.

(6) In this section—

• an “authorised officer” means an employee of a litter authority who is authorised in writing by the authority for the purposes of imposing civil penalty charges under this section,

• “litter authority” means—

  (a)

  a local authority,

  (b)

  Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, or

  (c)

  such other person as may be specified in regulations by the Scottish Ministers,

• “local authority” means a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994,

• “registered keeper”, in relation to a registered vehicle, means the person in whose name the vehicle is registered under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994,

• “registered vehicle” means a vehicle which is registered under that Act,

• “vehicle” means a mechanically-propelled vehicle or a vehicle designed or adapted for towing by a mechanically-propelled vehicle.

88D Littering from a vehicle: consequences of civil penalty charge notice under section 88C

(1) No action may be taken under section 87 or section 88 against a person in respect of an act of littering for which a civil penalty charge notice has been given and paid in full, regardless of whether or not the person who paid it is the vehicle’s keeper.

(2) After the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on which a civil penalty charge notice is given, any unpaid amount of the charge may be recovered in like manner as an extract registered decree arbitral bearing a warrant for execution issued by the sheriff for any sheriffdom.”.

(3) In section 160A, in the table in subsection (2), after the entry relating to section 47B(1) (as inserted by section 13(3)) insert—

“88C(5) (littering from a vehicle: Scottish civil penalty regime)

any regulations under that subsection.”.