Membership fees start from as little as £950 per annum, per organisation.
Used well, our membership service has no real cost and can save money for our clients – how?
Answer:
YES. It is interesting that recent indications from the government suggest the government is considering legislation to prevent the issue of penalties for failing to bring bins back in - this does of course suggest that the government accepts that such powers do currently exist. The situation remains the same notwithstanding the waste review, as the government acknowledges that removal of criminal penalty powers will require amendment of primary legislation.
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Continues...... Regardless of the fact that several authorities have already obtained convictions in relation to non-compliance with such requirements, the answer is contained in section 46 itself: Section 46 provides that no requirement may be made to place a receptacle on highway unless consent has been obtained from the highway authority and there are sufficient insurance arrangements in place. No highway authority may give open ended consent to widespread obstruction of highway. Placement for collections necessarily involves recovery of any such receptacle as an essential part of that same process. To place a receptacle on highway and to leave it there is not a placement for collection, but an occupation of highway as a waste storage facility. Of course, in London, this is strengthened further by an amendment to section 46 that specifically states that requirements may be made to prevent detriment to amenity generally. I would add that the leaving of waste receptacles on highway is not only unsightly and obstructive but in many areas is known to be a significant contributor to other anti-social behaviour, such as arson and burglaries. |
Skills, knowledge and experience
Mallard Consultancy has been designing and delivering enforcement training since 1997. In that time Mallard has delivered training to 352 local authorities.
In the period April 2005 to March 2006, Mallard provided 98 training courses and trained 2312 delegates. All of the above were delivered to and for public sector organisations. The majority were local authorities, with some registered social landlords. Almost all of these courses related to either nuisance and environmental crime or enforcement and court procedure.
Mallard has also delivered enforcement / combating nuisance training to 47 RSL’s (registered social landlords) and also various specialist interest groups, such as:
The Manchester Health and Safety Group, Yorkshire and Humberside IOHS, The Derbyshire Food Group, The North West Health and Safety and Food Groups, The Derbyshire and East Midlands Planning Enforcement Group, BEST (Brighton and East Sussex Training), Derbyshire Police, South Yorkshire Police, Greater Manchester Police.
The above list is not exclusive and by illustration only.
In terms of LEQ (local environmental quality) related enforcement, it should be noted that the majority of Mallard’s training relates to environmental issues. The company was itself founded by two Environmental Health Officers and a solicitor working in the public sector. Mallard has recently completed a suite of offence charts and a guide to enforcement of BV199 by means of litter abatement order, both for CSGN and DEFRA. Mallard also currently carries out a significant degree of training in the CNEA and its potential impact upon environmental management for Mallard’s local authority client base.
Mallard has also, for example, provided consultancy and training to both Bradford City Council and Derby City Council to enable these organisation to pass RIPA inspection. Mallard recently provided training specifically in relation to court procedure, disclosure and CPIA and the recent CJA for Blackburn and Darwen BC.
In addition to specific course related accreditation, Mallard Consultancy can also offer the fact that it is itself recognised as a training provider of excellence at the highest level. Mallard is Law Society and ILEX accredited for CPD purposes in relation to any course it provides. Mallard’s courses are also recognised for CPD purposes by other relevant organisations, such as the Chartered Institute of Environmental health.
Personnel:
David Armstrong, LL.B. (Hons), NLP M.P, D Hyp, ISCH, GQHP.
David is widely known within the public sector as “the Wig”.
David is a founder member of Mallard Consultancy Ltd. He is an experienced solicitor and advocate. He has worked in both the private and public sector, and was employed by a large metropolitan local authority for 10/11 years as their Head of Litigation. David has prosecuted many precedent cases for public bodies and also taken action and trained many RSL's in civil actions to combat nuisance.
David is a Law Society and ILEX accredited trainer in advocacy and courtroom skills for the legal profession, in addition to Law Society and ILEX accreditation for client training.
David was the CIEH's sole trainer for their national enforcement compliance programme (aimed towards negotiation and conflict resolution without the need to resort to prosecution) and also a trainer for their EHO CPD training programme.
The offence charting system now used by many progressive local authorities was devised and authored by David Armstrong. David also introduced the use of on practical on site recording for officers dealing with enforcement in relation to environmental crime.
David acted as Keep Britain Tidy’s legal expert for six years and authored several of Defra’s guides, including those relating to litter clearing and street litter control. David developed the regulatory management and enforcement training packages used by Keep Britain Tidy from 2006 to 2012. He is an accredited trainer for the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management.
In short, David Armstrong, in conjunction with Mallard, is uniquely positioned to provide you with the highest quality enforcement training package available in this field.
Some Notable Cases:
Prosecutor of “Operation Fox” – the country’s largest illegal meat fraud prosecution, involving a 2 year investigation and 400,000 exhibits – directly lead to extension of permanent marking to condemned poultry meat.
Successfully brought the country’s first ever test case relating to wolf hybrids under The Dangerous Wild Animals Act.
Successfully brought the country’s first ever test case on the ambit of part I authorisations issued pursuant to the Environmental Protection Act.
Won two Court of Appeal precedent cases in local authority procedure.
A Small Selection of Comments From Previous Clients:
“The input you gave was extremely useful and provided significant legislative guidance to our efforts in reducing metal thefts.
It was also useful to meet an Advocate who was able to provide sound advice which will greatly benefit our future tactical
operational planning.
Thank you so much for your helpful advice and guidance.”
Simon Retford MSc MCMI
Superintendent,
Greater Manchester Police.
“Excellent speaker – lots of useful, common-sense advice!”
C. Wythe, Bridgnorth D.C.
“Thoroughly enjoyed the day. Very useful, informative,”
K. Rose, South Shropshire D.C.
“Excellent course. David Armstrong was extremely knowledgeable and made the course more interesting,”
L. Wheeler, Wealden D.C.
“Extremely helpful. Would have liked a longer course,”
E. Gill, Burnley B.C.
“Excellent speaker. Excellent course,”
M. Moss, Wigan B.C.
“Excellent course and speaker,”
I. Anderton, R.B. Kensington & Chelsea.
“Excellent presenter, I will recommend him to others,” C. Smith, Lambeth L.B.C.
“Excellent course,” A. Hobbs, Alldays.
“Superb presentation from an experienced speaker,” R.S. Jones,
Lambeth L.B.C.
“Excellent and knowledgeable speaker. A very entertaining day,”
K. Cameron, Hastings B.C.
“Very good and very useful. Lots of excellent info, particularly well presented,”
K. Smith, South Shropshire D.C.
“10 out of 10,”
D. Gold-Martin, Dartford
“Excellent course,”
M. Leonard, Basildon D.C.
“Very useful day. Very comprehensive set of notes,”
S. Howlett, Alldays.
“Excellent course,”
T. Ali, Islington L.B.C.
“Very good course. Very good speaker,”
Bethan Lloyd, Conwy County B.C.
“Excellent course and speaker,” I. Anderton, R.B. Kensington & Chelsea.
“Very good and very useful. Lots of excellent info, particularly well presented,”
K. Smith, South Shropshire D.C.
"Very informative course, extremely relevant and excellent notes," Salma Ali, Kingfisher Housing Association.
"Excellent course - could not be bettered," David Beardmore, Solicitor, Crewe & Nantwich B.C.
“Tricks and techniques of cross-examination fiendish! Very useful,”
I. Douglas, Mid-Sussex D.C.
“Sterling grasp of the minutiae of advocacy. Very good indeed,”
A. Fairhurst, Blackburn & Darwen B.C.
Mallard Consultancy has tendered for and won many training development contracts. Examples (not exhaustive) include:
Food Standards Agency –
Sole training organisation appointed to develop and deliver an eight day training programme to fully equip its Illegal Meat Task Force members to investigate and prosecute complex food fraud cases.
Chartered Institute of Environmental Health -
Sole training organisation appointed to develop and deliver a national training programme to skill environmental practitioners in techniques to successfully engage and negotiate with potential transgressors to achieve compliance without prosecution where possible.
Training Milestones:
Law Society and ILEX accredited trainer to the legal profession
Ref: BHR / MACL
Sole trainer appointed by CIEH to deliver their national compliance programme
Chaired the Social Landlords’ Crime And Nuisance Group annual conference in Nottingham
Key Note Speaker to the National Enforcement Forum in Warrington – The Psychology of Enforcement.
Sole trainer appointed by the FSA to train the Illegal Meat Task Force.
Also approved trainer for the CIH and CIWM.
Appointed through DEFRA to deliver the mandatory authorisation training required for issue of fixed penalty notices.
Legal columnist for “the Environmental Health Practitioner”.