To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in relation to Paragraphs 26 to 36 of the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2011, what consideration he has given to amending the legislation particularly around fines and restrictions on the purchase of aerosols.

The Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 (CNE Act) gives an authorised officer of a district council the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of £80 in respect of certain graffiti and fly-posting offences under: Article 33 of the Road Traffic Regulation (NI) Order 1997 (interference with, or damage to, traffic signs), which involves only an act of defacement; Article 87(1) of the Roads (NI) Order 1993 (painting, making marks or displaying advertisements on roads); and Section 175(2) of the Planning Act (NI) 2011 (enforcement of advertisement control).

Article 18 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 1985 includes powers for district councils to tackle graffiti. The formal guidance associated with the Order stipulates that councils should use these powers in the first instance (as opposed to the provisions in the CNE Act) so that they can claim the costs of removal from the perpetrators and pursue offenders. Reflecting the Department for Communities’ policy responsibility in this area, this legislation was transferred from the former Department of the Environment to the Department for Communities (DfC) under the Departments (Transfer of Functions) Order (NI) 2016 (Schedule 5, Part 1).

Whilst DAERA is currently responsible for the overarching CNE Act itself, it would appear that policy responsibility for graffiti (including the sale of aerosols) resides with DfC, as per Article 18 of the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (NI) Order 1985. As such, I have not given consideration to amending the legislation in respect of fines and restrictions on the sale of aerosols, as I believe that this is more appropriately a policy matter for the DfC Minister.

DAERA will be seeking to transfer Part 4 of the CNE Act (which includes Section 37 – sale of aerosols to children) in its entirety (Sections 26 through to 39) to DfC, subject to the agreement of the DfC Minister, as part of a future Transfer of Functions Order.