Recommendation 7

A further non-statutory alternative, or a complementary approach, to the two alternatives set out above is to reflect further on the importance of enforcement. It is surprising to the Committee that there as yet appear to have been no convictions under section 40 of the 2014 Act. The Committee recommends that the Scottish Government undertakes or commissions a short, targeted review of the operation of section 40 and the Environmental Liability (Scotland) Regulations 2009, examining why they have been rarely used and whether procedural, evidential or resource constraints are limiting their effectiveness.