Review of dissuasive sanctions under the Good Agricultural Inspection Regulations

Tender description

Tenders are invited to carry out a review of the effectiveness and efficiency of existing civil and administrative penalty regimes available to local authorities in dissuading farmers from breaching the Good Agricultural Practice Regulations. The assessment should include: • An initial review of existing civil and administrative penalty regimes under the GAP Regulations. • A review of key local authority experiences of enforcement and prosecutions under the GAP Regulations, problems encountered and lessons learned. • An assessment of Section 69 of the EPA Act and Section 12 of Water Pollution Act to determine if there any learnings to inform strengthening of the GAP Regulations if required. • A comparison of the effectiveness and efficiencies of using a penalty approach on the BISS payment as undertaken by DAFM with the approach taken by local authorities using enforcement actions such as convictions, fines and imprisonment. • An assessment of blockages or limitations associated with the dissuasive sanctions under the GAP Regulation. • Additional information and data that may be required to inform further discussions on dissuasive sanctions under the GAP Regulations and recommendations on how this data can be obtained. • Recommendations on any policy and legislative changes required and any other relevant changes required to strengthen the dissuasive sanctions under the GAP Regulation if required.