Jonathan Djanogly, Member of Parliament for the Huntingdon Constituency, has welcomed the government’s plan to introduce new laws that will scrap the limit – currently of £250,000 – on civil penalties for environmental polluters.

This will offer regulators, including the Environment Agency and Natural England, a quicker method of enforcement than costly and lengthy criminal proceedings, although these prosecutions will continue to be used for the most serious of cases.

The new laws will also significantly broaden the scope of the penalties to a much wider range of environmental offences, helping to better protect nature and biodiversity.

Commenting on the plan, Jonathan:

“Protecting Huntingdonshire’s natural environment remains one of my top priorities for the local area, I am therefore very pleased the government has decided to scrap the cap on civil penalties.

“This will provide regulators such as the Environment Agency with a new and useful tool to drive compliance, and I look forward to this change being implemented as soon as possible.”

Additional details about the new laws can be found here: ‘Polluters must pay’ says Environment Secretary, as unlimited penalties unveiled.