Part 3: Unmanned aircraft Fixed penalty notices Policy Background
FPNs provide an alternative means of enforcement in relation to offences. The use of FPNs reduces the burden on the courts and police, because a person who is issued an FPN and pays it within the required time frame will not be subject to the court process and associated costs that are incurred when a person is prosecuted. FPNs were proposed in the consultation, "Taking Flight: The Future of Drones in the UK" and received strong support from respondents for their introduction for minor offences relating to UA.
	Whilst the Act provides the power to constables to issue FPNs for offences relating to UA, future secondary legislation will designate which offences are appropriate for an FPN. It is the Government’s intention that FPNs will be available to use for less serious offending only – for example, where a person had flown too close to uninvolved people but not caused, or intended to cause, any harm. The Department for Transport has developed a list of situations where issuing an FPN would not be appropriate e.g. where a person has endangered any other aircraft. These are reflected in the conditions for issuing an FPN, which have been incorporated into paragraph 1 of Schedule 10 to the Act. This will ensure that for more serious offending an FPN would not be issued and prosecution through the courts would take place instead.