FINES for littering and dog fouling could be increased by Caerphilly County Borough Council, raising an extra £5,000 in the process.

In a health, social care, and wellbeing scrutiny committee report to be presented to cabinet on April 15, a number of recommendations have been made regarding the potential increase of fines.

In the recommendations, the fine for fixed penalty notices under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 has been increased by £25 to £100, or £75 if paid within seven days of the issue.

The fine for fixed penalty notices issued for breaches of dog control orders under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 has also been increased by £25 to £100, or £75 if paid within seven days of the issue.

The fine for fixed penalty notices issued for community protection notices and public space protection orders offences under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 is set at £100. Previously, the maximum fine had been £100.

In 2013-14, public protection staff issued 239 fixed penalty notices for littering, attracting paid fines of £11,200.

Looking forward to 2015-16, assuming 239 fixed penalty notices were to be served and 218 paid at the proposed reduced rate of £75, income from fines would total £16,350.

As the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 is a new piece of legislation it is difficult to predict how many fixed penalty notices might be issued, but the number is expected to be relatively low.

It is therefore estimated that there will be additional annual income of approximately £5,000 as a result of the proposed measures.