The Department previously consulted upon a proposed set of Regulations that amended both the ‘prescribed offences’ and ‘technical competence’ elements of the Fit and Proper Person test. However, responses to that consultation indicated that further consideration and changes were necessary and that because of the technicality of the proposed Regulations, these elements should be consulted upon separately. As a result, the Department has revisited its proposals.
The offences contained in regulation 2 of the 2003 Regulations are not only out of date, they focus mostly on waste-related offences and do not take account of other offences, which could point to a person not being seen as fit and proper. Therefore, the Department proposes to broaden the spectrum of prescribed offences to take into account other criminal activities such as fraud and theft. Environmental offenders are often guilty of other forms of criminality.