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| 67 | Enforcement of penalty charges |
| (1) | The Lord Chancellor may make regulations for or in connection with the enforcement of penalty charges. |
| (2) | The regulations may include provision— |
| (a) | creating criminal offences to be triable summarily and punishable with a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or such lower amount as may be specified; |
| (b) | for amounts payable under or by virtue of any provision of this Part to be recoverable, if a county court so orders, as if they were payable under a county court order. |
| (3) | An amount to which subsection (2)(b) above applies that is so recoverable is referred to below as a "penalty charge debt". |
| (4) | The Lord Chancellor may by order make provision— |
| (a) | for warrants of execution in respect of penalty charge debts, or such class or classes of penalty charge debts as may be specified in the order, to be executed by certificated bailiffs; |
| (b) | as to the requirements that must be satisfied before a person takes any other step of a kind specified in the order, with a view to enforcing the payment of— |
| (i) | a penalty charge debt; or |
| (ii) | such class or classes of penalty charge debts as may be so specified. |
| (5) | Any such order may make such incidental and supplementary provision (including modifications of any enactment other than this Act) as the Lord Chancellor considers appropriate in consequence of the provision made by the order. |
| (6) | Any order in force immediately before the commencement of this Part of this Act under— |
| (a) | section 78(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40); or |
| (b) | section 82(3) of the Traffic Management Act 2004, |
shall, with any necessary modifications, have effect after that commencement as if made under the corresponding provisions of this section and shall apply in relation to the enforcement of any penalty charge debt.
| (1) | For the purposes of section 67 (enforcement of penalty charges) of this Act a person is a certificated bailiff if he is authorised to act as such by a certificate signed— |
| (a) | by a judge assigned to a county court district; or |
| (b) | in such circumstances as may be specified in regulations made by the Lord Chancellor, by a district judge. |
| (2) | The Lord Chancellor may by regulations make provision in connection with the certification of bailiffs under this section and the execution of warrants of execution by such bailiffs. |
| (3) | The regulations may, in particular, make provision— |
| (a) | as to the security (if any) to be required from certificated bailiffs; |
| (b) | as to the fees and expenses payable with respect to execution by certificated bailiffs; and |
| (c) | for the suspension or cancellation of certificates issued under this section and with respect to the effect of any such suspension or cancellation. |
| (4) | Any regulations in force immediately before the commencement of this Part under— |
| (a) | section 78(4) to (6) of the Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40); or |
| (b) | section 83 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 (c. 18), |
shall, with any necessary modifications, have effect after that commencement as if made under the corresponding provisions of this section.
| (5) | A person who is not a certificated bailiff but who purports to levy a distress as such a bailiff, and any person authorising him to levy it, shall be deemed to have committed a trespass. |
| 69 | Levels of penalty charges |
| (1) | It shall be the duty of the borough councils to set the levels of penalty charges payable to them under section 64 (penalty charges) of this Act. |
| (2) | Different levels may be set for different areas in Greater London and for different cases or classes of case. |
| (3) | In setting the level of penalty charges under subsection (1) above the councils may take account of— |
| (a) | any reasonable costs or expected costs incurred or to be incurred in connection with the administration of the provisions of the enactment under which the particular contravention giving rise to the penalty charge notice is created; and |
| (b) | the cost or expected cost of enforcing the provisions of the relevant enactment. |
| (4) | Levels of penalty charges set by the councils in accordance with this section may only come into force in accordance with section 70 (penalty charges: reserve powers of Secretary of State) of this Act. |
| (5) | The councils shall publish, in such manner as the Secretary of State may determine, the levels of penalty charges which have been set by the councils in accordance with this section. |
| 70 | Penalty charges: reserve powers of Secretary of State |
| (1) | Where the borough councils set any levels of penalty charges under subsection (1) of section 69 (levels of penalty charges) of this Act, they shall notify the Secretary of State of the levels of fixed penalties so set. |
| (2) | Where notification of any levels of fixed penalties is required to be given under subsection (1) above, the levels of fixed penalties shall not come into force until after the expiration of— |
| (a) | the period of one month beginning with the day on which the notification is given; or |
| (b) | such shorter period as the Secretary of State may allow. |
| (3) | If, before the expiration of that period, the Secretary of State gives notice to the joint committee that he objects to the levels of fixed penalties on the grounds that some or all of them are or may be excessive, those levels of fixed penalties shall not come into force unless and until the objection has been withdrawn. |
| (4) | If, at any time before the levels of fixed penalties required to be notified under subsection (1) above to the Secretary of State have come into force, the Secretary of State considers that some or all of them are excessive, he may make regulations setting the levels of fixed penalties. |
| (5) | Levels of fixed penalties set under subsection (4) above must be no higher than those notified under subsection (1) above. |
| (6) | Regulations under subsection (4) above are without prejudice to the duty imposed on borough councils by subsection (1) of the said section 69 but where the Secretary of State makes any such regulations the councils must not set any further fixed penalties under the said subsection (1) until after the expiration of the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which the regulations are made. |
Fixed Penalties
| 71 | Fixed penalties under the London Local Authorities Act 2004 |
| (1) | Part 4 (fixed penalties) of the London Local Authorities Act 2004 (c. i) is amended as follows. |
| (2) | In section 16 (fixed penalty notices)— |
| (a) | in subsection (2)(a), for "14 days" there is substituted "28 days". |
| (b) | in subsection (3), the following paragraph is inserted after paragraph (b)— |
| | "(ba) that if the fixed penalty is paid before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date of the notice, the amount of the fixed penalty will be reduced by the specified proportion;"; |
| (c) | in subsection (9), before ""chief finance officer"" there is inserted "—(a)" and at the end the following paragraph is inserted— |
| | "(b) "specified proportion" means such proportion, applicable in all cases, as may be determined for the purposes of this section by the borough councils acting through the joint committee.". |
| (3) | In section 17 (levels of fixed penalties), in subsection (7), for "the said section 18" there is substituted "the said sections 16 and 18". |
Schedule 2 to the London Local Authorities Act 2004 (c. i) is amended by the insertion, in the appropriate place, of the following entry into the table of offences in respect of which a fixed penalty notice can be given under section 15 (fixed penalty offences) of that Act—
| "14 |
London Local
Authorities Act 2007 |
26(5) |
Failure to comply with requirement
at civic amenity site" |
PART 5
Miscellaneous
| 73 | Display of certain video recordings |
| (1) | This section applies to a video work in respect of which a classification certificate has been issued stating that no video recording containing that work is to be supplied other than in a licensed sex shop. |
| (2) | A person who at any place in a borough other than in a sex shop for which a licence is in force under Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (c. 30) displays in the course of a business— |
| (a) | a video recording containing a video work to which this section applies; or |
| (b) | any packaging indicating that it contains such a video recording, |
is guilty of an offence unless he is displaying the video recording or packaging for the purpose only of a supply which, if it took place, would be an exempted supply by virtue of section 12(6) of the 1984 Act.
| (3) | It is a defence to a charge of committing an offence under subsection (2) above to prove— |
| (a) | that the accused neither knew nor had reasonable grounds to believe that the classification certificate contained the statement concerned; |
| (b) | that the accused believed on reasonable grounds that the place concerned was a sex shop for which a licence was in force under the said Schedule 3; |
| (c) | that the accused believed on reasonable grounds that were the video recording to have been supplied or offered for supply by him in the place concerned the supply would if it had taken place been, an exempted supply by virtue of section 3(4) or 12(6) of the 1984 Act. |
| (4) | A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) above shall be liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or both. |
"the 1984 Act" means the Video Recordings Act 1984 (c. 39);
"classification certificate", "video recording" and "video work" have the same meanings ascribed to them by the 1984 Act.
| 74 | Temporary sleeping accommodation: powers of entry, search and seizure |
| (1) | An authorised officer may, at all reasonable hours and on production, if required, of his credentials, exercise the following powers, that is to say— |
| (a) | he may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether a relevant offence has been committed, inspect any relevant items and enter any premises other than premises used only as a dwelling; |
| (b) | if he has reasonable cause to suspect that a relevant offence has been committed, he may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether it has been committed, require any person carrying on a trade or business or employed in connection with a trade or business to produce any books or documents relating to the trade or business and may take copies of, or of any entry in, any such book or document; |
| (c) | if he has reasonable cause to believe that a relevant offence has been committed, he may seize and detain any relevant items or documents for the purpose of ascertaining, by testing or otherwise, whether the offence has been committed; |
| (d) | he may seize and detain any relevant items or documents which he has reason to believe may be required as evidence in proceedings for a relevant offence; |
| (e) | he may, for the purpose of exercising his powers under this subsection to seize relevant items or documents, but only if and to the extent that it is reasonably necessary in order to obtain evidence in proceedings for a relevant offence, break open any container and, if that person does not comply with the requirement, he may do so himself. |
| (2) | An officer seizing any relevant items or documents in the exercise of his powers under this section shall inform the person from whom they are seized. |
| (3) | If a justice of the peace, on sworn information in writing— |
| (a) | is satisfied that there is reasonable ground to believe either— |
| (i) | that any relevant items, books or documents which a duly authorised officer has power under this section to inspect are on any premises and that their inspection is likely to disclose evidence of the commission of a relevant offence; or |
| (ii) | that any relevant offence has been, is being or is about to be committed on any premises; and |
| (b) | is also satisfied either— |
| (i) | that admission to the premises has been or is likely to be refused and that notice of intention to apply for a warrant under this subsection has been given to the occupier; or |
| (ii) | that an application for admission, or the giving of such a notice, would defeat the object of the entry or that the premises are unoccupied or that the occupier is temporarily absent and it might defeat the object of the entry to await his return, |
the justice may by warrant under his hand, which shall continue in force for a period of one month, authorise an authorised officer to enter the premises, if need be by force.
| (4) | An officer entering any premises by virtue of this section may take with him such other persons and such equipment as may appear to him necessary; and on leaving any premises which he has entered by virtue of a warrant under the preceding subsection he shall, if the premises are unoccupied or the occupier is temporarily absent, leave them as effectively secured against trespassers as he found them. |
| (5) | If any person who is not an authorised officer purports to act as such under this section he shall be guilty of an offence liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale. |
| (6) | Nothing in this section shall be taken to compel the production by a solicitor of a document containing a privileged communication made by or to him in that capacity or to authorise the taking of possession of any such document which is in his possession. |
"relevant enforcement notice" means an enforcement notice issued under section 172 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (c. 8) (issue of enforcement notice) in respect of a material change of use of the type described in section 25 (provision of temporary sleeping accommodation to constitute material change of use) of the Greater London Council (General Powers) Act 1973 (c. xxx);
"relevant items" means computers, software and other items which may be used to store or record information;
"relevant offence" means an offence under section 179 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 in relation to a relevant enforcement notice.
| (1) | Section 22 (soliciting for custom) of the London Local Authorities Act 2004 (c. i) is amended as follows. |
| (2) | For subsection (1) substitute— |
| "(1) | Subject to the following provisions of this section, it is an offence in the area of a borough council to solicit persons, or to permit the soliciting of persons, to attend premises— |
| (a) | if the impression is given, by the soliciting, that licensable activities, within the meaning of section 1 of the Licensing Act 2003 (c. 17), are carried on or from the premises; |
| (b) | which are a sex establishment within the meaning of Schedule 3 to the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (c. 30) (if that Schedule has effect in the borough).". |
| (3) | After subsection (2), the following subsection is inserted— |
| "(2A) | It shall be a defence in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (1)(a) if the premises concerned were licensed under Part 3 of the Licensing Act 2003 (c. 17) at the time of the alleged offence.". |
| (4) | Subsection (4) is omitted. |
| 76 | Charges for pipe subways |
| (1) | On and after the appointed day, section 27 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act 1958 (c. xxi) (charges in respect of subways of council) shall apply in respect of— |
| (a) | any public service work within the meaning of Part V of the City of London (Various Powers) Act 1900 (c. ccxxviii); or |
| (b) | any subway in which the borough council has an interest by virtue of the London Government Reorganisation (Pipe Subways) Order 1989 (S.I. 1989 No. 335), |
and references in that section to "the council" shall mean the borough council as respects such subways.
| (2) | On and after the appointed day, in section 40 of the said Act of 1900, the words from "And the Corporation may" to the end of the section are repealed and any byelaws made by virtue of those words so repealed are revoked. |
| (3) | Subsection (6) of the said section 27 (which provides for an exemption from charges for operators of electronic communications code networks) is repealed. |
| (4) | Any person who by virtue of the said subsection (6) was exempt from paying charges under that section shall, from the date on which subsection (3) comes into force until the next review of charges due under subsection (5) of the said section 27, pay such reasonable charges as may be settled by agreement between the borough council and that person or failing such agreement by arbitration. |
| (5) | Subsections (3) and (4) of the said section 27 shall apply in relation to an arbitration under subsection (4) above as they apply in relation to an arbitration under subsection (2) of that section. |
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