Section 108(4)

The powers which a person may be authorised to exercise under subsection (1) or (2) above are— to enter at any reasonable time (or, in an emergency, at any time and, if need be, by force) any premises which he has reason to believe it is necessary for him to enter; on entering any premises by virtue of paragraph (a) above, to take with him— any other person duly authorised by the enforcing authority and, if the authorised person has reasonable cause to apprehend any serious obstruction in the execution of his duty, a constable; and any equipment or materials required for any purpose for which the power of entry is being exercised; to make such examination and investigation as may in any circumstances be necessary; as regards any premises which he has power to enter, to direct that those premises or any part of them, or anything in them, shall be left undisturbed (whether generally or in particular respects) for so long as is reasonably necessary for the purpose of any examination or investigation under paragraph (c) above; to take such measurements and photographs and make such recordings as he considers necessary for the purpose of any examination or investigation under paragraph (c) above; to take samples, or cause samples to be taken, of any articles or substances found in or on any premises which he has power to enter, and of the air, water or land in, on, or in the vicinity of, the premises; in the case of any article or substance found in or on any premises which the person has power to enter, being an article or substance which appears to that person to have caused or to be likely to cause— to cause it to be dismantled or subjected to any process or test (but not so as to damage or destroy it, unless that is necessary); pollution of the environment, harm to the environment, flooding, harm to human health, or a detrimental impact on drainage, in the case of any such article or substance as is mentioned in paragraph (g) above, to take possession of it and detain it for so long as is necessary for all or any of the following purposes, namely— to examine it, or cause it to be examined, and to do, or cause to be done, to it anything which he has power to do under that paragraph; to ensure that it is not tampered with before examination of it is completed; to ensure that it is available for use as evidence in any proceedings for an offence under the pollution control enactments or flood risk activity enactments in the case of the enforcing authority under whose authorisation he acts or in any other proceedings relating to a variation notice, enforcement notice or prohibition notice under those enactments; to require any person whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be able to give any information relevant to any examination or investigation under paragraph (c) above to answer (in the absence of persons other than a person nominated by that person to be present and any persons whom the authorised person may allow to be present) such questions as the authorised person thinks fit to ask and to sign a declaration of the truth of his answers. to require the production of, or where the information is recorded in computerised form, the furnishing of extracts from, any records— and to inspect and take copies of, or of any entry in, the records; which are required to be kept under the pollution control enactments or flood risk activity enactments for the enforcing authority under whose authorisation he acts, or which it is necessary for him to see for the purposes of an examination or investigation under paragraph (c) above, as regards any premises which an English or Welsh authorised person has power to enter by virtue of paragraph (a), for the purposes of an examination or investigation under paragraph (c)— to search the premises; to seize and remove documents or anything else found on the premises (other than an article or substance within paragraph (g)); to require any information which is stored in electronic form and is accessible from the premises to be produced in a form in which it can be removed and— in which it is visible and legible, or from which it can readily be produced in a visible and legible form; to operate any equipment found on the premises for the purposes of producing such information in such a form; to require any person to afford him such facilities and assistance with respect to any matters or things within that person’s control or in relation to which that person has responsibilities as are necessary to enable the authorised person to exercise any of the powers conferred on him by this section; any other power for— which is conferred by regulations made by the Secretary of State. a purpose falling within any paragraph of subsection (1) above, or any such purpose as is mentioned in subsection (2) above,

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Source: legislation.gov.uk · retrieved 2026-07-30