Earlier this year (and after more than a decade of our campaigning), Defra banned fining for profit in litter enforcement. Now, the Home Office has done the same for ‘busybody’ fines, which are currently being handed out at a rate of 25,000 a year (75% of which are issued by private enforcement).
The Home Office revised its statutory guidance on anti-social behaviour powers; the guidance that governs how councils use Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) and Community Protection Notices (CPNs). The revised version was issued in October 2026, and for the first time it applies the same anti-profiteering rules to these powers that Defra applied to litter.
The guidance is not perfect, but – if enforced – it should put an end to the worst practices of the private enforcement industry across the whole range of public-space fining.
Here are the key gains….
1. Private firms must not profit from issuing more fines
This is the central provision, and it repeats the Defra wording almost exactly:
Where external contractors are used, private firms should not be able to receive greater revenue or profits just from increasing the volume of penalties. This would conflict with the overall aim of reducing the number of offences committed.
For years the standard model has been to pay private enforcement companies a share of each fine, a direct incentive to issue as many as possible. That model is now at odds with the statutory guidance for PSPOs and CPNs, not just for litter. Payment per fine is now illegal.
2. Enforcement must never be used to make money
The guidance is clear:
Enforcement activity should never be considered as a way to generate income. This could undermine the legitimacy of enforcement and make it less effective at discouraging further ASB.
3. Enforcement staff must not be rewarded for issuing more fines
This tackles the bonus culture that has driven the worst of the industry, including officers paid or targeted on how many tickets they hand out. The guidance states that performance management of enforcement staff, including rewards or penalties, should never be based on:
the volume of penalties issued; a fixed amount of revenue to be raised.
Instead, performance is to be judged on outcomes – such as compliance, the number of appeals, and the actual local impact on offending – not on the number of fines.
4. Councils must publish their contracts with private companies
A significant transparency requirement, which is also in the Defra guidance:
When using external contractors, the council should publish the full text of any contracts or legal agreements. This provides additional scrutiny and reassurance that such contracts are not being used as a revenue raiser.
The guidance adds that the Local Government Transparency Code already requires councils to publish contracts over £5,000 and discourages the use of commercial confidentiality clauses to avoid doing so. Many councils have hidden behind exactly those clauses in response to our FOI requests.
5. In-house enforcement must meet the same standards
A common way round the rules is to run enforcement through an ‘internal client department’ or a council-owned company. The guidance prevents that:
Enforcement authorities should have a service level agreement for any enforcement operations carried out by an internal client department on their behalf. This should include the specification terms and conditions required by the client department, just as there would be for a contract with an external service provider. Any such service level agreement should reflect these principles.
In other words, the anti-profiteering rules apply however the enforcement is structured.
6. The fine must be proportionate
The amount on the ticket must reflect the offence:
The amount specified in a fixed penalty notice should be determined in accordance with the issuing authority’s published policy or agreed framework, taking account of the seriousness and circumstances of the breach.
When issuing a fixed penalty notice, the issuing officer should ensure that the amount is proportionate to the breach. It will not always be appropriate to issue fixed penalty notices of £500 and the issuing officer is expected to consider the severity of the breach and the conduct of the individual as well as other factors the issuing officer deems relevant when deciding the amount of the fixed penalty notice.
7. People who are fined can challenge the enforcement contract
Someone who receives a fine can raise concerns not only about their own case but about whether the council’s entire enforcement set-up goes against the guidance:
A person who receives a Fixed Penalty Notice may wish to raise concerns about the circumstances in which the notice was issued, including where they believe the enforcement arrangements used by the local authority are inconsistent with the principles set out in this guidance. Local authorities should have appropriate procedures in place to consider such representations and should ensure that any concerns raised are reviewed fairly and impartially.
8. The council is responsible for penalties issued
Local authorities remain responsible for enforcement activity carried out on their behalf by contractors, accredited persons or other authorised officers. Where concerns are raised about the actions of a contractor or the local authority’s enforcement arrangements, the authority should consider whether the Fixed Penalty Notice was issued in accordance with the law, this guidance and any relevant local policies.
And if you want to go to court to challenge the FPN:
If a person disputes liability for the alleged offence, they may make representations to the issuing authority. Where a Fixed Penalty Notice is not paid and proceedings are commenced, the recipient may raise any relevant matters before the court, which will determine the case on the facts and the law.
What this means
Taken together with the Defra litter guidance, the landscape of on-the-spot fining is now covered by one clear principle: enforcement is not a revenue stream, and private firms must not be paid per penalty.
This guidance is statutory, so councils must have regard to it when using these powers. But as with the Defra guidance, the real question is whether it will be enforced. We will be watching to see how councils respond…
If your council is still operating a fining-for-profit arrangement, get in touch.