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As a not-for-profit 100% of any profits generated by The Compliance People are directly gift aided to our parent charity Newground Together.
Formed to make life better in our communities, this month we take a look at Autum’s story.
During National Apprenticeship Week, our charity highlighted its extensive experience in supporting apprentices through employment and skills advice sessions. Autumn approached Newground Together at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, recalling, “We were in the midst of Covid and there was nothing going on. I was trying to find something and nothing sat right, I was really struggling,” she said.
“I took part in a course and that’s where I met Lorraine from Newground. Mansib (an Employment Advisor at Newground Together) reworked my CV and he looked for different courses for me that we could explore further. He built my confidence up too, to say to me ‘you can do that’.”
With her confidence restored, Autumn secured a temporary role with the Newground Together Youth Team. Drawing on her own life experiences and natural connection with young people, she thrived in the role.
Although she started with little experience and initial nerves, by the end of the placement, she knew youth work was the right path for her. “It just felt right, I don’t quite know what it was that stuck with me. At the end of the six-month placement, I was anxious because I knew I wanted to stay within youth work,” Autumn shared.
When a Project Officer role became available, she seized the opportunity. Armed with her newfound skills and experience, Autumn applied—and got the job!
Eventually, she was able to come back to the Youth Team as a full-time member, a role she had wanted right from the very start. She said:
Autumn said:
Newground Together provides support for those seeking employment or training, offering guidance, confidence-building, and practical advice.
Jurisdiction: Great Britain
Commencement: 30th January 2025
Amends:
The Assimilated Regulation 2017/625 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products sets out the official controls to be carried out on animals and relevant goods entering Great Britain by the relevant competent authorities.
Various duties apply and are available to view on the Legislation Update Service.
Assimilated Regulation 2017/625
The list of goods (specific fruit and vegetables) that are exempt from the requirement for pre-notification when those goods are imported into Great Britain from an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland is updated.
Exemptions no longer apply for imports of:
An exemption is added for asparagus.
Assimilated Regulation 2019/2072
The list of goods (specific fruit and vegetables) that are exempt from the requirement for pre-notification when those goods are imported into Great Britain from an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland is updated.
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 14th January 2025
Amends: Energy Act 2013 (2013 c.32) with commencement Order and associated Regulations
The Energy Act 2013 (2013 c.32) sets out the legislative framework that the Government will make Regulations from in the coming years to ensure that the UK will generate enough secure, affordable and low-carbon energy to meet increasing demand. As well as cost and capacity issues, these forthcoming policies also consider the UK’s Climate Change Act 2008 commitments and legally-binding EU renewables targets. The Act introduces Contract for Difference, a key part of the Electricity Market Reform (EMR) programme.
Various duties apply and are available to view on the Legislation Update Service.
Changes have been made to previous regulations, covering the replacement of parts in eligible generating stations and the eligibility of phased offshore wind CFD units.
The Contracts for Difference (Definition of Eligible Generator) Regulations 2014
The definition of generating activity has been updated to include alteration by decommissioning a part of an eligible generating station in order to replace it. A person conducting this activity is still considered an eligible generator.
The Contracts for Difference (Allocation) Regulations 2014
Those planning to decommission a part of an eligible generating station, in order to replace it, can still apply to take part in the CFD allocation process.
Also, floating offshore wind units which are part of a phased offshore wind project are now eligible for CFD allocation.
Jurisdiction: Northern Ireland
Commencement: 1st June 2025
Amends: New Legislation
The sale and supply of single-use vapes* is prohibited in Northern Ireland from 1st June 2025, addressing the environmental impact caused by disposable vapes being discarded.
*Single-use vapes include any non-medical device used to vaporise substances, other than tobacco, which is not refillable or rechargeable, as detailed in regulation 3.
Offence
It is illegal for anyone to sell or supply single-use vapes in Northern Ireland from 1st June 2025.
Enforcement
Local authorities are given powers and responsibility for enforcing compliance. Those who sell or supply single-use vapes illegally may be fined or imprisoned.
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 1st January 2025
Amends: New Legislation
Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 1st January 2025
Amends:
Following the UK’s exit from the EU, this Order establishes a UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) covering greenhouse gas emissions from power and heat generation, energy intensive industries and aviation.
The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Auctioning Regulations 2021
Various duties apply and are available to view on the Legislation Update Service.
Amendment
The UK ETS Order is updated to:
This Order also make changes to civil penalties as well as making small corrections and clarifications.
Jurisdiction: Republic of Ireland
Commencement: 21st November 2024
Amends: Waste Management Act 1996 (Act 10 of 1996) and associated orders
The Waste Management Act 1996 was enacted in May 1996, which makes provisions in relation to the prevention, management and control of waste. The main objectives of the Act are to:
Legal definitions within the 1996 Act directly transpose that of the relevant EU legislation. The legal definition of ‘waste,’ is defined in law as ‘something which a holder discards, intends to discard or is required to discard.’ Within the Waste Management Act the term ‘discard’ has a wider legal scope, as materials going to recovery or recycling, fall within the legal definition of waste.
Part I of the Act emphasises new powers for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Local Authorities aimed at facilitating the enforcement of the legislation. These powers deal with the inspection of premises and vehicles (Section 14) and the imposition of obligations upon a person holding, recovering or disposing of waste to carry out specified monitoring (Section 15) and provide specified information to the authorities (Section 18).
Part II of the Act provides information on waste management planning. This outlines the main requirements on the drafting of waste management plans, with their actual structure and content being determined by the Waste Management (Planning) Regulations 1997. The Act specifies certain matters to be dealt with in the plans, in particular reflecting the EU waste hierarchy, with plans having a requirement to address the scope for waste prevention and waste recovery.
Part III of the Act deals with a wide range of regulatory measures to promote waste prevention and recovery, involving obligations on producers, distributors, retailers and consumers.
Part IV of the Act clarifies and expands the role of local authorities in relation to waste collection and imposes a general duty upon a holder of waste to avoid environmental pollution, also, prohibiting a person holding waste from transferring control of the waste to a person who is not authorised to deal with it (Section 32).
Part V of the Act contains provisions that set out the nature of waste licensing. Once granted, a waste license defines the nature of environmentally acceptable waste management activities at a waste facility.
Part VI of the Act includes provisions, similar to those contained in the Air and Water Pollution Acts, regarding measures to prevent, limit or remedy the effects of environmental pollution caused by the holding, recovery or disposal of waste.
Under the Waste Management Act 1996 and associated Regulations all major local authorities are responsible for:
Both operators and users of unauthorised waste management facilities can be prosecuted under the legislation, as well as companies who use unauthorised waste collectors or send waste to illegal waste sites. In general the penalties for the contravention of the Waste Management Act are approximately €1900 or prison sentences up to 12 months. More serious offences can be subject to fines up to €10 million and imprisonment of up to 10 years.
As a social enterprise, 100% of our profits are reinvested into our parent charity, Newground Together. Each month, we aim to share how your support creates a meaningful impact. This month, we’re highlighting one of our charity’s smaller projects that delivered a significant difference to the people involved.
Smithybrook View, a housing with care scheme for residents aged over 55 with assessed care or support needs, recently approached our charity after learning about their grants. The residents often faced challenges in hearing announcements during meetings, meaning crucial information from speakers such as the fire service and police was frequently missed. This left many tenants, particularly hearing aid users, feeling excluded and disconnected from important updates.
In response, Newground Together provided a grant to install a new sound system compatible with hearing aids. This upgrade ensures that all residents can hear and stay informed during meetings and events, significantly reducing feelings of isolation, promoting inclusivity, and enabling everyone to fully participate.
The impact of the new system goes beyond the residents of Smithybrook View. It also benefits their family members, friends, and the wider community, who often attend events at the scheme, ensuring everyone can enjoy clearer communication and an enhanced experience.
Jeffrey Waples, Smithybrook Social Club Committee Chair, said:
“The Newground Together grant was a huge help. As a person who wears hearing aids to hear well, the new speaker system was a great idea. Now when we have tenant meetings, speakers, or singers here, I can hear better without any nasty feedback noises.”
Claire Fisher, Scheme Manager at Smithybrook View, said:
“This has made a huge difference to our community of tenants and visitors for meetings, visits from speakers, local schools singing, and entertainment acts.”
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the supplementing European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) provide a framework and methodology for large organisations, and small and medium-sized organisations which are public-interest entities (public companies and those which provide financial service products) meeting specific thresholds to report on their sustainability progress within their annual financial reports.
The methodology requires a double materiality assessment to be conducted which explores the relevance and significance of material impacts, risks and opportunities relating to environmental, social and governance matters. Matters which are deemed material are those which an organisation must report on.
CSRD remains a hot topic in the sustainability landscape as we see more and more EU Member States adopting and putting in place regulations for its implementation. The ultimate goal of CSRD is to ensure organisations report consistently, performance is comparable, and improvement is assessed.
Following Directive (EU) 2022/2464 as regards corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD), published in December 2022, EU Member States were required to implement national laws establishing sustainability reporting requirements by 6th July 2024. In the Republic of Ireland this has been introduced through the European Union (Corporate Sustainability Reporting) Regulations 2024.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 as regards sustainability reporting standards, published in July 2023, provides the specific reporting standards to be used by organisations in order to comply with CSRD. These standards are also known as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and consist of:
The 10 topical standards, and the majority of data points within these, are subject to being found as material to the organisation during a double materiality assessment.
As we enter 2025, we’ve seen many (but not all) EU Member States bring CSRD to life with their own national laws and new rules regarding its implementation. The next year will see organisations within the first compliance window publish their annual reports containing their sustainability reporting in line with CSRD.
With so many sustainability reporting standards and guidelines out there, providing us with a plethora of acronyms, it’s easy to get lost, but that’s where CSRD comes in! While CSRD can seem complicated at first glance, the aim is for it to act as a standardised sustainability reporting framework. CSRD incorporates within it many of the pre-existing voluntary and mandatory sustainability reporting functions such as:
meaning that multiple reports won’t be necessary if organisations are obliged to report under several frameworks.
As a social enterprise, 100% of all profits generated by The Compliance People are donated to our parent charity, Newground Together.
Without your support, our charity wouldn’t be able to carry out the fantastic work it does.
This video serves as a thank you to each and every one of you.
Stay up-to-date with topical news and legislation from The Compliance People. Selected updates direct to your inbox.
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