Issuing a fine
Cumberland Council has a zero-tolerance approach to the supply of single-use vapes.
Unless there are aggravating circumstances, we will issue a penalty where there is evidence to show that a person has committed an offence under these Regulations, even if it their first offence.
Where there are aggravating circumstances we might take other action, even for a first offence.
Examples of aggravating circumstances would include:
- the supply of a single-use vape to a child
- if someone commits a second offence
- where a person is in possession of a large quantity of single-use vapes
We will not issue a fine where:
- a business can show it has taken all reasonable steps to avoid committing an offence
- we have issued a compliance notice and the business have carried out the tasks detailed in that notice
Issuing a compliance notice
This is a notice that we may issue to a person telling them what action they must take to ensure that no further offences are committed.
The notice will tell the person how long they have to comply with our instructions.
A compliance notice will be used where the authority considers it the most appropriate way to ensure further offences are not committed.
Failure to comply with a notice will lead to a person being issued with a fine or the authority may take legal proceedings against them.
Notice of Intent
If we are considering issuing a fine or a compliance notice on a person, we must issue them with a notice of intent.
This tells the person what action we propose to take and why we intend to take it.
The notice must include either the value of the fine or the details of the action we require the business to take.
A person who is given a notice of intent may offer to put right any damage or compensate another person who has been affected by the offence. This is known as a third-party undertaking. Cumberland will consider whether to accept any offer of such an undertaking on a case-by-case basis.
We must consider any third-party undertakings made before we issue any final notices.