Local authority services

You should contact the local council for the area where the graffiti or fly posting has taken place.

If the person/organisation is known, then it may be possible for the council to issue penalty notices and a 'defacement removal notice' (in Wales this is a 'graffiti removal notice' and applies only to graffiti).

If it is on council-owned property, or if it is offensive/racially abusive, the council may be responsible for removing it. If not, then the council may be able to advise you who to contact or remove the graffiti at a charge.

See the website in Related Information to find out your local council's details.

You should contact the local council for the area where you spotted the damage. The council may be responsible for the removal or repair of an item, depending on what has been damaged.

If you see someone committing vandalism, then you can report this to your local police force via 101.

See the website in Related Information to find out your local council's details.

You should contact your local council who will usually be responsible for maintaining or repairing street signs.

If you see someone committing vandalism, then you can report this to your local police force via 101.

See the website in Related Information to find out your local council's details.

You should contact your local council who will usually be responsible for maintaining or repairing bus shelters.

If you see someone committing vandalism, then you can report this to your local police force via 101. 

Please see the website in Related Information to find out your local council's details.

There are a number of organisations who may be responsible, depending on whether the drain is inside property boundaries or, part of a public network. The initial points of contact for any blockages would be the water company or the highways authority.

If there is flooding in the road, you should contact the highways department of your local authority who will take appropriate action to resolve the situation. The Citizens Advice provide more information on this; for a link to their website and, to find your local council please see the websites in Related Information.

You should contact your local council who will be able to advise you on the traffic calming measures that are in place, or the process for getting traffic calming introduced in your area.

See Related Information to find your local council.

You should contact your local council, whose Environmental Protection Department should be able to take action or, direct you to who is responsible for taking action in response to reports of an infestation.

See related information to find your local council.

The law in England and Wales states that it is prohibited to smoke in any enclosed workplace, public building, public places or on public transport and anyone who does so faces a large fine. It affects, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs. The law chiefly covers indoor places but smoking at some outdoor places, such as football grounds, could be banned.

The smoker could be fined £50 or smoking in the workplace could be fined up to £200 if they light up in contravention of the law but the organisation could face a much larger fine if they fail to stop you from smoking and can also face fines if they fail to display no-smoking signs.

It is the responsibility of the local authority to 'police' the smoke-free laws. 

It is an offence for a scrap metal dealer to purchase scrap metal for cash. The dealer must pay by cheque or by electronic transfer. The dealer is required to record the method of payment and keep a copy of any cheque or any receipt identifying the transaction. This is to assist in investigations of metal theft by allowing transactions and sellers to be traced more easily. These obligations apply equally to mobile collectors of scrap metal.

A mobile collector of scrap metal must have a collector's licence issued by the local authority for the area in which they are collecting. As with scrap metal dealers carrying on a business at a fixed site, mobile collectors must acquire the full name and address of any person who supplies them with scrap metal (even if given free of charge) and must verify this information by reference to documents, data or other information obtained from a reliable and independent source (e.g. photocard driver's licence or passport).

If you wish to enquire whether a scrap metal dealer is registered, you should contact your local authority directly. See the websites in Related Information for further details and to find your local authority.

Many local authorities participate in the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme, which is managed by the Food Standards Agency. In those areas, food establishments are rated on their hygiene (please note that the rating is based solely on hygiene and not on food quality). There are six ratings going from 5 – hygiene standards are very good, down to 0 – urgent improvement is required. A rated business is then provided with a green ratings sticker, showing its results, which can be displayed to customers in its shop window.

However, there is no legal requirement to display the rating sticker given to them. But the Food Standards Agency has a website that can be used to search for any rated business in your local area and view the results:

Food Standards Agency - Search for ratings

If you wish to report an issue such as poor hygiene in a food outlet, see the following website to find the relevant contact details:

Food Standards Agency - Contact a local food safety team

Sub-letting without permission is normally considered being a matter of civil, rather than criminal law.

However, if you are a tenant that is living in social housing and you decide to sub-let your property or assist someone else to sub-let such a property, you may have committed a criminal offence.

It is the responsibility of Local Authorities, rather than the police, to prosecute any instances of unlawful sub-letting.

If you sub-let all or part of your rented accommodation without obtaining permission from the landlord, then you would risk breaking the terms of your tenancy agreement, and you could be evicted. The landlord can serve you with a ‘Section 8 – notice’, seeking possession and the matter could go directly to court.

The Citizens Advice provide comprehensive information relating to both the civil and criminal liabilities which can arise when a property is sub-let without the relevant permissions.

Please see the link in Related Information.