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Jurisdiction: UK
Commencement: 26th May 2021
Amends: New Legislation
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) adopted the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) in 2016 to address CO2 emissions from international aviation.
The aim of CORSIA is to stabilise net CO2 emissions from international aviation at 2020 levels, by complimenting emissions reduction initiatives with carbon offsetting (i.e. where an organisation or individual compensates for their emissions by financing a reduction in emissions elsewhere).
It is forecast that CORSIA will mitigate 2.5 billion tonnes of CO2 between 2021-2035.
Exemptions
CORSIA only applies to international flights (flights that take off and land in different states), not domestic flights.
As CORSIA only applies to civil aviation, state flights are excluded from CORSIA. This includes military, customs, and police flights. Humanitarian, medical, and firefighting operations are also exempt.
Operators of aeroplanes with a maximum takeoff mass of 5700 kg or less are exempt.
Operators that begin operating international flights after 2019 are exempt from the offsetting requirements for a 3 year grace period. To be considered a ‘new entrant’ the operator must be in no way associated with any other company operating international flights e.g have a parent company or resulting from the takeover of international flights of another company.
The international standards for the implementation of CORSIA must be applied by all of the ICAO’s member states.
Reporting of emissions
Operators with annual emissions over 10,000 tonnes of CO2 are required to annually report their emissions from 1st January 2019, for international flights only.
In order to do this, operators must track fuel use of individual flights using 1 of the 5 approved fuel use monitoring methods. In certain circumstances operators may be eligible to use simplified monitoring and estimate emissions using the CERT, an ICAO estimation tool.
Operators must develop an emissions monitoring plan which includes information on the operator, its fleet, and operations, detailing the methods used to monitor fuel use, calculate emissions, and associated data management. It must then be submitted to the national authority for approval.
Annual emissions reports must be verified by an independent third party verification body (accredited to ISO 14065 and meeting CORSIA specific requirements) prior to submission to member states. The emissions monitoring plan will help the verifier to check that the approved methods have been applied correctly by the operator during verification.
The member state will then report the aggregated emissions to the ICAO, which will then publish the total emissions reports.
Offsetting requirements
From 2021, at the end of each 3 year compliance period, operators must demonstrate that they have met their offsetting requirements by cancelling the appropriate number of emissions units.
Administering authorities will notify operators of their final offsetting requirements by the 30th November following the end of a 3 year compliance period, with provisional offsetting requirements provided by the 30th November on an annual basis.
CORSIA phases
There will be a phased approach to the introduction of carbon offsetting into CORSIA with the following phases decided:
From 2021 – 2026 only flights between states that have volunteered to participate will be subject to offsetting requirements.
n.b operators based in an exempt state will still be required to offset and flights between volunteering states.
After this, from 2027 all international flights will be subject to offsetting requirements; however, flights to and from the following states will be exempt, unless the state participates on a voluntary basis:
Cancelation of emissions units
Operators must cancel the required number of units by the 31st January following notification of the final offsetting requirements. Operators may cancel units prior to notification if they wish.
Information on the emissions units cancelled must be compiled into an emissions cancellation report which, once verified, is submitted to the administering authority.
When an emissions unit is cancelled it is taken out of circulation and becomes unavailable for any other uses.
Determination of offsetting requirements
An operator’s offsetting requirements are determined by its administering authority; however, final offsetting requirements will benefit from a reduction where an operator has used CORSIA eligible fuels*.
The emissions reductions will be proportional to the life cycle emissions benefits of the fuel used compared to jet fuel.
*CORSIA eligible fuels are those which meet the sustainability criteria; fuel must achieve net emission reductions of at least 10% compared to conventional jet fuel on a life cycle basis (i.e. all emissions from the full supply chain for production and used, as well as emissions from induced land-use change). They must also not be made from biomass obtained from land with high carbon stocks.
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Jurisdiction: GB
Commencement: 31st May 2021
Amends: Employment Rights Act 1996
The rights of an employee to not be detrimentally treated due to leaving a workplace, or refusing to return to one, when doing so to protect themselves or others are extended to ‘limb (b) workers’. This means that workers registered as self-employed and providing services as part of someone else’s business are now protected under part of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
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Jurisdiction: UK
Commencement: 26th March 2021
Amends: New Legislation
Under the Agriculture Act 2020, the Secretary of State has the power to provide financial assistance to farmers, foresters and other beneficiaries that manage land for certain purposes. These Regulations are made to allow the paying of financial assistance in the form of the following four financial assistance schemes:
The enforcement and monitoring of these financial assistance schemes is provided by these Regulations.
Applications for financial assistance schemes
All applications for financial assistance schemes must be made to the Secretary of State.
Payments under the financial assistance schemes
All payments under any of the financial assistance schemes will only be paid into a verified bank or building society account of the agreement holder*.*An agreement holder is the person who has entered into an agreement with the Secretary of State for financial assistance under one of the financial assistance schemes.
If the agreement holder is receiving financial assistance under the environmental land management pilot scheme, they are required to submit an annual declaration that confirms their compliance with the conditions of their financial assistance. This is not a requirement for the other financial assistance schemes.
Checking, monitoring and record keeping
Agreement holders can be asked to supply information or evidence to the Secretary of State. If the agreement holder is also required to keep records in accordance with their agreement, then that person must also provide copies to the Secretary of State.Change of circumstances
The agreement holder must immediately notify the Secretary of State of any changes in circumstances that affect;
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Jurisdiction: UK
Commencement: 1st April 2021
Amends: Finance Acts 1996 – 2021
The Finance Acts confirm and detail environmental taxes and duties.
Businesses are affected by the charges for waste disposal to landfill, energy use and carbon emissions.
Rates payable:
Light passenger vehicles registered before 1st April 2017 (vehicles other than higher rate diesel vehicles)
| C02 emissions | Rate (£) | ||
| Exceeding g/km | Not exceeding g/km | Reduced rate (£) | Standard rate (£) |
| 100 | 110 | 10 | 20 |
| 110 | 120 | 20 | 30 |
| 120 | 130 | 120 | 130 |
| 130 | 140 | 145 | 155 |
| 140 | 150 | 160 | 170 |
| 150 | 165 | 200 | 210 |
| 165 | 175 | 240 | 250 |
| 175 | 185 | 265 | 275 |
| 185 | 200 | 305 | 315 |
| 200 | 225 | 330 | 340 |
| 225 | 255 | 575 | 585 |
| 255 | – | 590 | 600 |
Graduated rates for light passenger vehicles registered on or after 1st April 2017 (vehicles other than higher rate diesel vehicles)
| C02 emissions | Rate (£) | ||
| Exceeding g/km | Not exceeding g/km | Reduced rate (£) | Standard rate (£) |
| 0 | 50 | 0 | 10 |
| 50 | 75 | 15 | 25 |
| 75 | 90 | 105 | 115 |
| 90 | 100 | 130 | 140 |
| 100 | 110 | 150 | 160 |
| 110 | 130 | 170 | 180 |
| 130 | 150 | 210 | 220 |
| 150 | 170 | 545 | 555 |
| 170 | 190 | 885 | 895 |
| 190 | 225 | 1335 | 1345 |
| 225 | 255 | 1900 | 1910 |
| 255 | – | 2235 | 2245 |
Higher rate diesel vehicles that do not meet Euro 6 emission standards
| C02 emissions | ||
| Exceeding g/km | Not exceeding g/km | Rate (£) |
| 0 | 50 | 25 |
| 50 | 75 | 115 |
| 75 | 90 | 140 |
| 90 | 100 | 160 |
| 100 | 110 | 180 |
| 110 | 130 | 220 |
| 130 | 150 | 555 |
| 150 | 170 | 895 |
| 170 | 190 | 1345 |
| 190 | 225 | 1910 |
| 225 | 255 | 2245 |
| 255 | – | 2245 |
Two different rates of landfill tax exist (standard and lower), for the disposal of relevant waste made at authorised landfill sites in England and Northern Ireland. Rates for the relevant year can be found below.
Rates for disposal made on or after 1st April 2021 are:
Inert or inactive waste, e.g. rocks or soil, is subject to the reduced rate.
From 1st April 2018, the landfill disposal tax replaced the UK landfill tax in Wales. For further information and rates, please see The Landfill Disposal Tax (Tax Rates) (Wales) Regulations 2018.
For landfill tax rates in Scotland, please see the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014 for further information.
Climate change levy rates that apply from 1st April 2021-2023
| Taxable commodity supplied | Rate at which levy if supply is not a reduced-rate supply |
| Electricity | £0.00775 per kilowatt hour |
| Gas supplied by a gas utility or any gas supplied in a gaseous state that is of a kind supplied by a gas utility | £0.00568 per kilowatt hour |
| Any petroleum gas, or other gaseous hydrocarbon, supplied in a liquid state | £0.02175 per kilogram |
| Any other taxable commodity | £0.04449 per kilogram |
Climate change levy rates that apply from 1st April 2023
| Taxable commodity supplied | Rate at which levy if supply is not a reduced-rate supply |
| Electricity | £0.00755 per kilowatt hour |
| Gas supplied by a gas utility or any gas supplied in a gaseous state that is of a kind supplied by a gas utility | £0.00672 per kilowatt hour |
| Any petroleum gas, or other gaseous hydrocarbon, supplied in a liquid state | £0.02175 per kilogram |
| Any other taxable commodity | £0.05258 per kilogram |
Aggregate levy is a tax on sand, gravel and rock that has either been:
If your business exploits aggregate in the UK (i.e. a quarry operator), you must tell HMRC how much aggregate you have produced or sold.
Certain materials are excluded from the tax. A full list of exempted materials can be found here.
The current levy is £2.00 per tonne for sand, gravel or rock.
The carbon emissions tax is repealed as the UK did not leave the EU in a ‘no-deal’ scenario and is therefore not required.
Part 2 of the Act introduced a plastic packaging tax which will be payable from 1st April 2022. For more information relating to the tax see Finance Act 2021 Part 2
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Jurisdiction: UK
Commencement: 23rd June 2021
Amends: The Carbon Budget Orders 2009 – 2021
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Jurisdiction: Northern Ireland
Commencement: 7th July 2021
Amends: The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2021
Restrictions on premises that hold an occasional liquor licence are updated to add that a person responsible for operating a business or members’ club must require attendees to obtain tickets in advance.
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Jurisdiction: England
Commencement: 18th July 2021
Amends: The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 3) Regulations 2020
The expiry date for these Regulations has been extended to the 27th September 2021.
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There are changes on the horizon with regards the current specific requirements for employers with respect to provision of personal protective equipment or PPE. In this article, The Compliance People Consultant, Mick Baah, briefly looks at the potential changes to The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 (PPER).
The application of the requirements of the PPER 1992 for employers to extend their arrangements for provision of PPE to “workers” and not just employees. This means for example, that employers may potentially be required to provide PPE to their on-site resident contractors who are carrying out work on the employer’s behalf if so required.
Findings from a judicial review carried out in November 2020 brought by the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) against the Secretaries of State for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for Work and Pension (DWP). The review found that the UK Government failed to transpose key requirements of the Council Directive 89/391/EC (“the Framework Directive)” and Council Directive 89/656/EC (the PPE Directive) respectively via PPER 1992. N.B. “The Framework Directive” sets out the minimum standards for health and safety through a series of general principles), and “the PPE Directive” sets out the minimum health and safety requirements for the use of personal protective equipment in the workplace for workers.
Also known as limb (b), workers are those individuals who are registered as self-employed but provide a service as part of someone else’s business and must carry out the work personally rather than being able to send someone in their place, i.e., they are not independent contractors).
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have commissioned a consultation which commenced on Monday 19th July with the aim of understanding the impact on stakeholders and businesses of extending the scope of the employers’ duties under the PPER 1992 to cover workers and not only employees. This consultation is due to last for 4 weeks. You can access further details of the consultation at https://consultations.hse.gov.uk/hse/cd289-amends-ppe-work-regs-1992/
If you need more help, why not get in touch with us? - Our professional team of consultants offer independent, periodic compliance evaluations for both environment and health & safety.
Lone working is becoming more and more prevalent in everyday work. Despite this, an element of ‘out of sight and out mind’ continues to remain with respect to employer’s arrangements for managing the associated hazards and risk. This article sees The Compliance People Consultant, Mick Baah, look at the legalities and responsibilities for employers and employees with respect to lone working.
Lets start with the basics. Lone working is defined by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) as people who work by themselves without close or direct supervision. However, the scope of that definition doesn’t necessarily mean that the worker or individual is physically alone. They could be just purely in different location to the remainder of their team, manager or supervisor i.e. A warehouse operative carrying out a picking task or a maintenance engineer attending a break down to equipment or machinery on site). Considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world of work and increase in employees home-working for example, or the increase in the number of delivery drivers on our roads, the widening scope of lone working becomes even more apparent.
A resounding yes is the answer. As we now know more about the scope of what lone working covers, activities involving lone working can be a crucial part of an organisation’s activities. Current health and safety legislation very much supports this. Again, to quote the HSE “It is often safe to work alone”.
The main focus of health and safety at work from employer responsibility is to ensure a duty of care is provided. There is no specific legislation stating that lone working should be managed, it is only implied by health and safety legislation. The Health and Safety at Work Act etc.1974 and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 are the main drivers of this. Away from the criminal law standpoint, there is also a common law duty for this to be done. Employers have a duty to look after their employees with regards the working activities they are undertaking.
A common misconception that definitely exists amongst some employers is that specific lone working risk assessments are mandatory. To be clear, employers should identify significant hazards which could cause injury or illness, evaluate how likely it is that these hazards could result in employees or others being harmed and ultimately take steps or action to eliminate or control this risk. Or in short, complete a risk assessment. Lone working should be such a consideration only if it is identified as a significant hazard in the workplace. How detailed this assessment will be depends very much on the activity or activities involved.
There is a legal duty for employers to provide a safe system of work. A process, policy, and procedure for lone working arrangements fits this requirement. More importantly though, whatever arrangements are devised, ensure they are actioned and monitored. Communication with relevant people is key and look to obtain relevant feedback on effectiveness of those arrangements and how they can be improved.
Ensure your employees are aware of the scope of lone working in your business and what activities are involved. Where possible, provide examples of such activities that are carried out to allow for employees to be able to relate.
Ensure supervision arrangements are in place for lone working activities. This may include the following considerations:
Ensure employees who are carrying out lone working activities are suitably trained and are aware of the relevant safety procedures.
Employees are required to look after themselves and others and not take unnecessary risks. This will assist their employer in meeting their health and safety legal requirements.
If you need more help, why not get in touch with us? - Our professional team of consultants offer independent, periodic compliance evaluations for both environment and health & safety.
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