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Jurisdiction: England
Commencement: 26th December 2022
Amends:
The Building Regulations 2010 impose requirements on people carrying out “building work” which is defined in regulation 3 as the erection or extension of a building; the provision or extension of a controlled service or fitting; the material alteration of a building or controlled service or fitting; work required in relation to a material change of use; insertion of insulating material into a cavity wall; work involving underpinning of a building; work required to replace or renovate thermal elements; work relating to a change in a building’s energy status and work relating to improvement of the energy status of certain large existing buildings.
The Buildings (Approved Inspectors etc) Regulations 2010 consolidate the Building (Approved Inspectors etc) Regulations 2000 and all subsequent amendments. The Building Act 1974, Section 47, allows Approved Inspectors to be given the responsibility for inspecting plans and building work and ensuring that buildings are compliant with the Building Regulations 2010. The Regulations introduce requirements for the approval and designation of ‘approved inspectors’ and provide requirements relating to the supervision of work by approved inspectors. Approved inspectors must have no professional or financial interest in the work they supervise unless it is minor work.
Various duties apply.
New requirements are introduced for newly built dwellings in relation to ‘gigabit-ready physical infrastructure’* and a ‘gigabit-capable public electronic communications network’**. These are set out in the Schedule to this Regulation and come into force on 26th December 2022.
*Gigabit-ready physical infrastructure means physical infrastructure or installations that are intended to host wired or wireless gigabit-capable electronic communications networks.
**Gigabit-capable public electronic communications network means a public, electronic communications network that is capable of delivering broadband services at download speeds of at least 1,000 Mbps.
This amendment has no direct relevance to environmental matters.
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Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 28th May 2022 – 1st October 2022
Amends: Building Safety Act 2022 (c. 30)
To enable these changes, this Act establishes a building safety regulator as part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), with the objectives of securing the safety of people in / around buildings and improving the general standard of buildings. This regulator enforces the many new duties imposed on an accountable person in relation to higher-risk buildings, laid out in this Act. In addition to higher-risk buildings, this Act also lays the groundwork for future regulations on prohibition of development and building control and construction products, and makes significant amendments to the Building Act 1984.
Section 126 lays down the groundwork for the establishment of ‘building industry schemes’ by the Secretary of State. These will be created to help ensure safety in and around buildings as well as to improve the overall standard of buildings.
Different sections of this Act come into force at different times (outlined in Section 170). Part 2 (The regulator and its functions) and Part 4 (Higher-risk buildings) largely come into force for the purposes of making additional regulations under this Act on the day this Act is passed. Part 3 will be brought into force by subsequent regulations made by either the Welsh Ministers (for Wales) or Secretary of State (for England).
Various duties apply.
Several sections of the Building Safety Act 2022 are bought into force on the dates outlined below.
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Newground Together is a charity operating in the North of England, with the aim of creating better lives and opportunities for the communities in which they operate. Their objectives are to empower people to create sustainable, connected, resilient, healthy and prosperous communities.
We’re extremely proud and pleased to say that this year, Newground Together has been nominated for two places in the finals of the prestigious ERSA Awards.
Sector Innovator of the Year
Since it opened earlier this year, the Newground Together Employment Hub has supported more than 250 people, 67% of whom are now on an employment programme.
The Hub, based in Blackburn, is a place for local people to drop in and access free recruitment and training support. The Hub also has a whole range of additional services, such as mental health support and CV Screening. All of which are directly funded by your support.
The innovation element of the award refers directly to the hub’s location, approach and breadth of services. “We’ve created a place where people feel comfortable asking for help—and where asking for that help is easy and convenient,” says Alison Clews, Community Programmes Manager at Newground Together. “Our connections in the borough, with employers and community partners will enable us to offer a wide range of support and match job seekers with local vacancies to help more people into sustained employment. This is our first Employment Hub and has been specifically located in the heart of Blackburn town centre to ensure that additional support for people on their journey into employment is readily available, accessible and links directly with employment opportunities with local businesses. We hope the Hub helps to make a true difference to the lives of people living in Blackburn with Darwen.”
Frontline Advisor of the Year
Lorraine Fenney has been an Employment Adviser for over 20 years, the last five as part of the team at Newground Together. We’re incredibly pleased to announce that Lorraine has now been shortlisted
in the frontline advisor of the year category.
“Lorraine has a unique ability to put people at ease, no matter their circumstances or experience” says Emily Pearson, Community Programmes Manager. “It doesn’t matter if people have been out of work 5 minutes, 5 years or never worked before. She has the ability to give people the confidence, that they can work no matter what”
“For example, she’s helped people secure special educational needs support for their children. She’s helped them negotiate the school system and advocates for them in meetings with social workers so barriers to work are removed. Not only is she fantastic with single-mum families, she has a successful record of advocating for people with disabilities, making it easier for employers to make adaptations.”
Between 2017 and 2020 Lorraine was personally responsible for supporting 310 individuals presenting a variety of barriers to work such as physical disabilities, mental ill health, lack of work experience, single parenting, homelessness and other factors that have a huge impact on gaining employment. Since then, lorraine has lead the Moving Forward Together mentoring service. This service aims to motivate and socially integrate people who have really struggled to get into work.
The Compliance People would like to wish our parent charity and Lorraine the best of luck. We all have our fingers crossed for 30th November when the award winners will be announced.
From loss and damage agreements, to 1.5°C temperature rise limits, The Compliance People consultant Valentin Avram gives a roundup of the outcomes of the COP27 Climate Summit.
COP27 is the annual United Nations (UN) climate conference that took place between 6th November 2022 and 20th November 2022 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. COP27 attendees included governments and negotiators from across the world, who discussed solutions to keeping temperature rises below dangerous levels.
Limit to temperature rises
One of the key outcomes of the COP26 conference, which took place in Glasgow in 2021, was the Glasgow Climate Pact which aimed to accelerate the action on climate change by limiting the rise of global temperatures to 1.5°C.
The COP26 commitment to limit global warming to 1.5°C was reaffirmed, though no new actions were agreed upon. A proposal to peak global greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 failed to go through.
Energy
A provision was made in the final text of COP27 to boost “low-emissions energy”. This could mean nuclear reactors or wind and solar farms. It could also be interpreted as gas, which has lower emissions than coal.
However, no agreement was reached on the phasing-out of coal. The previous provision from COP26 to phase-out the use of coal was maintained, but no new actions were included.
Technology
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Environment Program (UNEP) launched a five-year joint work programme for 2023 to 2027. The aim of this joint programme is to enable countries to achieve the goals of the UNFCCC, and those of the Paris Agreement. It also enables the implementation of national climate plans which can be achieved through the development and transfer of technology.
The target to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels was reaffirmed, but it seems almost impossible to achieve due to the lack of progress on cutting emissions. Is the current instability caused by the war in Ukraine one of the reasons for these setbacks? In my opinion, it is fair to say so.
There are uncertainties surrounding the proposed Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. The Compliance People Consultant Alison Long gives a heads-up on how this Bill may affect your organisation.
Following Brexit, the proposed Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill is set to remove or amend around 2,400 pieces of legislation based around European Union (EU) directives. If the Bill is passed in April 2023, any retained EU laws that are not specifically renewed will be repealed by the 31st December 2023 sunset clause.
The aim of this Bill is to allow the Government to amend, repeal and replace EU laws easily, and to restore priority to domestic law.
Approximately 58 of the proposed 2,400 pieces of legislation are related to health and safety, including the following.
Primary legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 will not be affected by the changes.
There is uncertainty surrounding this deregulation process, as the Government has not issued any formal proposals regarding the fate of specific regulations. It is possible that these regulations will remain unchanged, be removed, or replaced. The Bill is currently in the committee phase in the House of Commons, but if it is passed, there will be changes to health and safety duties for organisations.
The current proposal requires both Houses of Parliament to approve any amendments or to revoke legislation. However, concerns are raised about the time it will take to consider pieces of legislation in detail before the sunset clause takes effect on 31st December 2023. The actual review processes are currently unknown.
Jurisdiction: Great Britain
Commencement: 26th October 2022
Amends: The Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme Regulations 2018
Various duties apply.
The following apply to England, Scotland and Wales. These changes come into force on 16th November 2022.
Changes are made to the fuel quality requirements for wood pellets listed in Schedule 4A. These Regulations temporarily suspend the requirement for participants who use wood pellets as fuel for their biomass boilers to use ENplus A1 pellets.
Furthermore, this suspension of this requirement will apply for 12 months.
Powers are granted to the Secretary of State to temporarily suspend this requirement again, if needed in the future.
Additionally, changes are made to the ownership requirements in regulation 52A (Modification of installation capacity -shared ground loop systems). A participant who is not the owner, or one of the owners of an additional heat pump can make a capacity modification application to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) if:
Tariff Guarantees (TG2 and TG3) and Coronavirus (COVID-19) extension applicants can file a plan to modify capacity on, or before 31st March 2023, without their plant being accredited by Ofgem. This is done to accommodate delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are no changes to duties for organisations.
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Jurisdiction: Republic of Ireland
Commencement: 4th October 2022
Amends: Water Services Acts 2007 to 2017
Various duties apply.
Ownership of the properties listed in the Schedule to this Regulation is transferred to Irish Water from 31st October 2022.
There are no changes to duties for organisations.
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Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
Commencement: 1st November 2022
Amends:
Various duties apply.
The following provisions are omitted.
A minor technical change is made to replace a reference to the Commission with the Secretary of State. This allows the Secretary of State to adopt delegated acts.
Disclosure of information
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) may disclose certain information concerning the trade in or safety of chemicals to ensure:
Information shall not be disclosed if it would contravene data protection.
Persons may use the disclosed information for a permitted purpose, in accordance with regulation 3.
There are no changes to duties for organisations.
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Jurisdiction: Republic of Ireland
Commencement: 7th October 2022
Amends: Planning and Development Regulations 2001
These Planning and Development Act 2000 (Exempted Development) (No.3) Regulations were created under the Planning and Development Act 2000. The regulations deal with practical matters such as requirements for site notices, fees for applications and time limits. The regulations also cover Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) contents and exemptions.
Under the Planning and Development Regulations 2002, the scales of location maps are modified to be used in areas other than built-up areas.
Any person making a planning application should be aware of the Regulations as a failure to comply will result in a planning application being rejected. Planning permission involves applying to the relevant planning authority and ensuring that any development that is carried out complies with the terms granted in the planning permission. Any planning application should also comply with the technical requirements regarding site notices and advertisement.
Schedule 2 (Exempted Development) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 is amended to exempt solar panels and / or solar thermal collector installations* under Class 60 from planning permission, subject to certain conditions.
*Solar thermal collector installations are devices that generate heat by absorbing sunlight.
Solar panels and / or solar thermal collector installation under Class 61 are also exempted from planning permission, subject to certain conditions. Class 61 applies to:
Additional conditions and limitations are introduced for:
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Jurisdiction: Republic of Ireland
Commencement: 3rd October 2022
Amends: Wildlife Act 1976
The protected wild animals and birds are listed in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedule. It is an offence to hunt, export or sell protected animals and wild birds without a license or permission to do so. The Act also prohibits the use off firearms, snares or traps to capture or hunt protected animals, unless a license or other permission has been granted. Certain time periods throughout the year, known as open seasons allow the hunting of wild birds without a license.
Unless written notice of intention is given of more than seven days, vegetation should not be burnt within one mile of a wood, which is not the property of that person, or on land to which an order or agreement made under the Act relates to.
It is an offence to cut, burn or destroy any vegetation growing on land that has not been cultivated between 15 April and 31 August in any year.
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Stay up-to-date with topical news and legislation from The Compliance People. Selected updates direct to your inbox.
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