The upper limit on all current fines and maximum fines of £5,000 and above that magistrates' courts can impose have been removed after the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Fines on Summary Conviction) Regulations 2015 (LASPO) came into force on 12 March.
Instead, magistrates can now issue higher penalties to offenders who have committed the most serious “level five” offences (lexisurl.com/iema81091). LASPO amends several pieces of legislation, including the Environment Protection Act 1990, by removing the ceilings on fines that magistrates could impose for offences connected with waste or the control of air pollution, for example. ]
The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 are also amended and raise the prospect of unlimited fines. Reg.39 relates to penalties and the wording “a fine not exceeding £50,000” is substituted with “a fine” by the LASPO regulations.