Here is an example of a letter for your MP, asking them to support the Lords amendment banning fining for profit.
Re: Please support the Lords amendment banning ‘fining for profit’ for PSPOs and CPNs
I am writing as your constituent regarding the Crime and Policing Bill, and specifically the amendment passed by the House of Lords on 25 February 2026 (https://votes.parliament.uk/votes/lords/division/3526) that would prohibit private companies from receiving financial benefit contingent on the issuing of fixed penalty notices for public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) and community protection notices (CPNs).
The Lords amendment addresses a serious injustice in the current enforcement regime: some councils contract private enforcement firms that are remunerated on a per-fine basis. In 2023, approximately 75% of PSPO penalties were issued through such arrangements, with private contractors receiving 80–90% of the penalty income. This gives companies a clear financial incentive to maximise the number of fines issued, regardless of whether behaviour genuinely warrants sanction.
This creates a perverse situation in which enforcement becomes a revenue-generating exercise rather than a proportionate tool for addressing genuine antisocial behaviour. It raises concerns about fairness, due process, and public confidence in the rule of law when ordinary people can be hit with substantial fines – up to £500 under provisions in the Bill – for relatively minor or trivial behaviour because a private firm’s business model depends on issuing large numbers of penalties.
Importantly, this amendment does not prevent enforcement against antisocial behaviour; it simply ensures that enforcement is not driven by profit incentives.
There is also a clear precedent for this principle elsewhere in government policy. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is introducing statutory guidance prohibiting ‘fining for profit’ arrangements in relation to environmental offences such as littering (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-enforcement-powers-when-and-how-to-use-them/litter-enforcement-powers-when-and-how-to-use-them#revenue-from-penalty-receipts). It would make little sense for companies issuing both environmental and antisocial behaviour penalties to be subject to different standards depending on the type of fine.
As your constituent, I would therefore ask you to support the Lords amendment and oppose any attempt to remove or weaken it as the Bill returns to the House of Commons.
This amendment would introduce a simple but important safeguard to ensure that enforcement powers are used fairly and proportionately, rather than as a source of profit for private contractors.
I would be grateful to know your position on this issue.
Yours sincerely,
(Name and address)