February 2014 saw the Sentencing Council launch a set of new
guidelines for judges and magistrates aimed at increasing the
penalties imposed on serious environmental offenders. These
guidelines are set to impact on those working in the nuclear
industry and elsewhere, and will come into force on the
1st July 2014.
This draft is the first time that the Sentencing Council has
produced guidelines for environmental offences, and is intended to
establish a degree of consistency in courts across England and
Wales. The new '12 clear steps' measures have been produced
as a result and work on the premise that offences and offenders
will be categorized accordingly, and the calculations of fines
issued will be proportionate to the size of the offender. As a
result, Magistrates are being encouraged to enforce the higher
levels of penalties available when making sentencing decisions on
more serious violations, with fines of up to a quoted maximum of
£3 million, but this may be
