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Litter, graffiti, fly-tipping, fly-posting, constant noisy fireworks, faulty burglar alarms and nuisance lighting are some of the key quality of life issues discussed in a consultation published by Defra today.

Living Places - Powers, Rights, Responsibilities will be announced at the Urban Summit in Birmingham by Rural Affairs and Urban Quality of Life Minister Alun Michael.

The paper aims to generate discussion on options for clarifying and improving the powers, duties and guidance that make up the legislative framework for providing and maintaining shared public spaces, such as streets, squares, commons and parks.

Mr Michael said:

"There is widespread concern that the current legislative framework has been inadequate in raising or maintaining local environmental standards. These are issues which affect all of us, and we want to ensure that those who are responsible for ensuring that our public spaces are clean and safe have the powers that they need, and that the public have the ability to hold them to account. We need everyone from businesses to community groups and individuals to share a common sense of pride and respect for our shared spaces."

The consultation is the result of a cross-Government review led by Defra into the powers, rights and responsibilities that govern and regulate public spaces and the local environment. The findings of the review are published today by the Deputy Prime Minister in the report Living Places - Cleaner, Safer, Greener.

The Defra review revealed that the current powers, duties and guidance are confusing, fragmented and outdated; for example, the main law which deals with begging is the 1824 Vagrancy Act. It also found that many of the key public services, as well as businesses and citizens, are either unaware or confused about their responsibilities.

Local authorities, police, and others involved in implementing legislation wanted a more consistent legislative framework, which included clear definitions of responsibility.

The review led to the development of 27 options for addressing some of the key issues. These include:

• Broadening and strengthening local authority powers to tackle symptoms of environmental degradation, such as graffiti, fly-posting and vandalised or neglected buildings, including greater use of fixed-penalties and abatement orders.
• Giving local authorities powers to bill the owners or occupiers where they need to intervene to clean up neglected private land or buildings which are subject to fly-tipping, fly-posting or other problems which affect people living and working nearby.
• Giving local authorities and police freedom to set the level and payment options of existing fixed penalty notices to tackle specific local problems.
• Introducing a new duty for owners of bus shelters, phone boxes and other street furniture to keep their property in a reasonable condition and clear of graffiti and fly-posters.
• Giving local authorities powers to deal with nuisance lighting on private property, silence nuisance alarms, control the distribution of free literature in the street, reduce the continual use of fireworks, and control the sale of spray paints and markers.
• Modernising police and local authority powers concerning beggars, peddlers, buskers, clip-boarders and others who may exhibit anti-social behaviour in public areas.
• Empowering citizens with legitimate grievances to demand action from local authorities, other public services and landowners to keep their local environment clean.

The options described in the consultation paper are aimed at assigning duties and powers to the public bodies with the greatest incentive to make improvements and under the most pressure to respond to complaints or concerns to make our streets, squares, commons and parks both cleaner and safer, but without putting unreasonable burdens on them.

Defra wants to involve in the discussion people ranging from those most involved in implementing regulations, such as police forces and local authorities, to those they are likely to affect, such as individuals, community groups and business groups.

Notes for editors

1. Living Places - Powers, Rights, Responsibilities can be viewed at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/consult/pubspace/index.htm and requests for printed copies, quoting reference PB 7726, should be made to:

Defra Publications
Admail 6000
London
SW1A 2XX
Tel: 08459 556000

2. Living Places - Cleaner, Greener, Safer Spaces can be viewed at the ODPM website at www.odpm.gov.uk and requests for printed copies, quoting reference PB 7726, should be made to:

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
PO Box 236
Wetherby
West Yorkshire
LS23 7NB
Tel: 0870 1226 236 Fax: 0870 1226 237
Textphone: 0870 1207 405
Email: odpm@twoten.press.net

3. Defra took the lead in the cross-Government review of the powers and responsibilities that govern and regulate the quality of public spaces and local environments. This work followed a recommendation in the Treasury-led review Improving Public Space, which was part of the Spending Review 2002 (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/Spending_Review/ ) and a commitment in the recent Local Government White Paper (www.local-regions.odpm.gov.uk/).

4. Alun Michael is due to announce the consultation during a themed session about Urban Rural Linkages at the Urban Summit at Birmingham's International Convention Centre. The Urban Rural Linkages factsheet can be viewed at:

www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/pdfs/urban_rural_linkages_factsheet.pdf

See also photos of Alun Michael in Birmingham

Public Enquiries: 08459 335577

Press Notices available via Defra website

http://www.defra.gov.uk

END

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