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UK Act of Parliament
2008
United Kingdom
Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008
At a glance
Enforced by
What's here
17 compliance obligations, 1 practical guide · 3 journeys
Penalty landscape
2 of 17 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 2 carry different penalties and 13 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.
Who this Act binds
Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.
- Any Person 5
Plus 12 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.
Step-by-step journeys using this legislation
Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.
Relevant guidance
Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.
Supporting — topic alignment
1 guidesOther Acts binding the same actors
For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.
Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012 2012 110 duties
- Licensing Act 2003 2003 105 duties
- Merchant Shipping Act 1995 1995 97 duties
- Road Traffic Act 1988 1988 95 duties
- Air Navigation Order 2016 2016 86 duties
What this Act requires
Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.
Part 1 — The Local Better Regulation Office
Guidance to local authorities
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers must provide guidance and consult Crown / Minister / Government department
Enforcement priorities
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Government must publish and review enforcement priority lists Crown / Minister / Government department
Relationship with other regulators
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Secretary of State and major regulators must agree working protocols Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 18 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
LBRO
Dissolution of the LBRO company
“Local authority”
“Relevant function”
Objective relating to general functions
Guidance to local authorities: enforcement
Financial support and assistance to local authorities
Advice to Ministers of the Crown
Advice to Welsh Ministers
Duty not to impose burdens etc
Ancillary powers
Guidance or directions by the Secretary of State
Guidance or directions by Welsh Ministers
Review of LBRO
Power to dissolve LBRO
Dissolution of LBRO: tax
Orders under Part 1
Interpretation of Part 1
Part 2 — Co-ordination of regulatory enforcement
Browse 14 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Scope of Part 2
“Local authority”
“Relevant function”
Primary authorities
Nomination of primary authorities
Advice and guidance
Enforcement action
Enforcement action: exclusions
Inspection plans
Power to charge
LBRO support
Guidance from the Secretary of State
Orders under Part 2
Interpretation of Part 2
Part 3 — Civil sanctions
Fixed monetary penalties
Unlimited fine- Receive a fixed monetary penalty for regulatory breaches Any Person
Discretionary requirements
Unlimited fine- Breach of regulatory requirements leading to discretionary sanctions Any Person
Stop notices: procedure
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Regulators must follow specific procedures when issuing Stop Notices Statutory regulator
Stop notices: compensation
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Regulators must compensate businesses for losses from unjustified Stop Notices Statutory regulator
Stop notices: enforcement
2 years imprisonment- Failure to comply with a stop notice Any Person
Monetary penalties
- Failure to pay regulatory monetary penalties Any Person
Consultation and consent: Scotland
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Minister must consult or obtain consent before making orders for Scotland Crown / Minister / Government department
Consultation and consent: Wales
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Ministers must consult Welsh Ministers on regulatory orders Crown / Minister / Government department
Guidance as to use of civil sanctions
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Regulators must publish and follow guidance on civil sanctions Statutory regulator
Publication of enforcement action
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Regulators must publish reports on enforcement actions taken Statutory regulator
Compliance with regulatory principles
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Government must ensure regulators follow fair enforcement principles Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 25 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Power to make orders providing for civil sanctions
“Regulator”
“Relevant offence”
Fixed monetary penalties: procedure
Fixed monetary penalties: criminal proceedings and conviction
Discretionary requirements: procedure
Discretionary requirements: criminal proceedings and conviction
Discretionary requirements: enforcement
Stop notices
Enforcement undertakings
Combination of sanctions
Costs recovery
Appeals
Other provision
Excluded provision: Scotland
Excluded provision: Northern Ireland
Consultation: general
Parliamentary and Assembly procedure
Offences under subordinate legislation
Guidance as to enforcement of relevant offences
Review
Suspension
Payment of penalties into Consolidated Fund etc
Disclosure of information
Interpretation of Part 3
Part 4 — Regulatory burdens
Browse 2 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Part 5 — General
Browse 4 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement
Schedules
Browse 8 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
LBRO: supplementary
Designated regulators
Enactments specified for the purposes of orders under Part 3
Enactments specified for the purposes of section 62
Replacement of the LBRO company by LBRO
Enactments specified for the purposes of Part 1
Enforcement action: references to the Secretary of State
References to the Secretary of State
Other sections — not classified into a Part
These sections exist in the Act but the contents-of-Parts walker did not place them under a Part. Likely amendments or sections inserted out of the original Part structure.
Membership of a regulated group
- Maintain and share a group membership list for Primary Authority partnerships Any Person
Effect of inspection plans
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Trading Standards must follow agreed inspection plans Statutory regulator
Guidance and directions
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Regulators must follow government guidance and directions Statutory regulator
Browse 24 other unclassified sections
“Regulated person” and “regulated group”
“Qualifying regulator”
“Relevant function”
Primary authorities for regulated persons and regulated groups
Nomination of primary authorities
“Co-ordinator” of a regulated group
Application of sections 24A to 28B
Primary authority advice and guidance
“Enforcement action”
Enforcement action by primary authority
Enforcement action other than by primary authority
Enforcement action: exceptions
Inspection plans
Revocation and revision of inspection plans
Power to charge
Support of primary authority by other regulators
Other regulators to act consistently with primary authority advice etc
Primary authority enforcement action inconsistent with another authority's advice etc
Concurrent duties to notify primary authorities of enforcement action
Enforcement action notified to a primary authority inconsistent with another authority's advice etc
Overlapping inspection plans
Periods of time under Part 2
Regulations under Part 2
Interpretation of Part 2
Official guidance
Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.
- Environment Agency enforcement and sanctions policy (opens in a new tab) Publication
- Environmental permits: when and how you are charged (opens in a new tab) Publication
- Report environmental problem (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- Environmental permits and abstraction licences tables of charges (opens in a new tab) Publication
- Change transfer or cancel your environmental permit (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- Assessing and scoring environmental permit compliance (opens in a new tab) Publication
- How youll be regulated environmental permits (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- NRW environmental permits (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- NIEA IPPC guidance and application forms (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
- SEPA pollution prevention and control (opens in a new tab) Detailed Guidance
Enforcement and responsible bodies
The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.
Trading Standards (Local Authority)
Enforces consumer protection legislation including food labelling, weights and measures, product safety, and fair trading. Part of local authority structure. Investigates food …
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Browse legislation
Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.
Regulators
Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.