Commencement: 20th July 2018

Amends: The Renewables Obligation Order 2015

Mini Summary

This Order consolidates and re-enacts the Renewable Obligation Order 2009, as amended. It imposes an obligation on all electricity suppliers licensed under the Electricity Act 1989 which supply electricity in England and Wales, to produce a certain number of renewables obligation certificates in respect of each megawatt hour of electricity that each supplies to customers in England and Wales during a specified period known as an obligation period. It also bands the different technologies that are used to generate electricity from renewable sources.

Amendment

This Regulation provides for a cap on the number of annual renewable obligation certificates (ROCs) which can be issued for electricity generated using either biomass or bioliquid as fuel.

The Renewable Obligation Order 2015 imposes, on all electricity suppliers licensed under the Electricity Act 1989 and who supply electricity in England and Wales, an obligation to produce a certain number of renewable obligation certificates in respect of each megawatt hour of renewable electricity they supply to customers during the periods known as obligation periods. Each obligation period runs from 1st April to 31st March.

ROCs are certificates issued, by the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority, to operators of accredited renewable generating stations for the eligible renewable electricity they generate. These ROCs can then be sold directly to energy suppliers or to other third parties. ROCs are ultimately used by suppliers to demonstrate that they have met their obligation.

This Regulation inserts a new Schedule 6. Schedule 6 caps the number of ROCs that can be issued in respect of relevant electricity generated by certain types of generating station during each obligation period. Relevant electricity is electricity that has been generated using either biomass or bioliquid as fuel.

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Commencement: 6th September 2018

Amends: The Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (Wales) Regulations 2012

Mini Summary

These Regulations provide for the implementation and enforcement of a number of EU Directives and EU Regulations, regarding materials and articles intended to come into contact with food. General requirements are set for materials and articles in contact with foods. Specific requirements are laid down for active or intelligent materials or articles, ceramic articles, cellulose film, plastics and vinyl chloride.

Amendment

This amendment provides for the enforcement of Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EU) 2018/213 on the use of bisphenol A in varnishes and coatings intended to come into contact with food.

Article 2 states that migration into or onto food of bisphenol A (BPA) from varnishes or coatings applied to materials and articles must not exceed 0.05mg of BPA per kg of food.

BPA migration is not permitted from varnishes or coatings applied to materials and articles specifically intended to come into contact with foods for babies, infants or young children.

This amendment makes any person, who places on the market a material or article that fails to comply with Article 2, guilty of an offence.

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Commencement: 9th August 2018

Summary: 

This Act introduces a minimum price for the sale and supply of alcohol in Wales.

It provides a formula for calculating the relevant minimum price of alcohol. The formula is as follows :

– the minimum unit price (MUP) x the percentage strength of the alcohol x its volume in litres

The MUP for this purpose will be specified by Welsh Ministers in secondary legislation.

This Act also provides rules to determine the applicable minimum price in relation to alcohol supplied through special offers. This includes multi-buy alcohol transactions and alcohol supplied together with other goods or service.

It is an offence under this Act for an alcohol retailer to supply alcohol or authorise the supply of alcohol, at a selling price below the applicable minimum price.

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Exclusively for LUS subscribers, these interactive workshops, led by our consultancy team, will guide you through all of the features and functionality of LUS, ensuring that you are getting the most out of the system and effectively managing your compliance obligations.

These workshops are a great way to get the most out of LUS to make managing your compliance obligations easier and more effective.  Our consultants have a wealth of knowledge and experience in supporting companies to manage their compliance obligations and will be available on the day to answer any questions you may have.

Workshops are running in London, Manchester and Birmingham with morning and afternoon sessions running at each location.  Morning sessions will run from 9:30am – 12:30pm and afternoon sessions will run from 1:30pm – 4:30pm, with a 30 minute set-up time at the beginning of each session to ensure all attendees can access their LUS account. Light refreshments will be provided.

London – 25th September – Coin Street, 108 Stamford Street, South Bank, London SE1 9NH

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You can book onto your preferred workshop by clicking on the relevant links above.

Places are limited to 2 per subscription and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

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Cancellations 

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• Site assessment;
• Site perimeter fencing;
• Local fencing to vulnerable areas on the scaffold;
• Ladder removal;
• Ladder guards; and
• Other controls, e.g. CCTV.

The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency (CRC) Scheme will close early. The scheme will be replaced by the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) Framework. Furthermore, the climate change levy rates will also increase.

The government said the above combined policy package would provide a new social benefit of up to £1.5bn and will help deliver an energy efficiency boost of 20% by 2030.

Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme
The CRC Energy Efficiency (CRC) Scheme is designed to promote energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in the UK.

The ‘first phase’ ran from April 2010 to March 2014 and the ‘initial phase’ runs from April 2014 to March 2019. Organisations that qualify are required to monitor and report carbon emissions and purchase allowances.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (Revocation and Savings) Order 2018 makes provision for the early closure of the CRC scheme. The ‘initial phase’ will be the final phase of the scheme. Participants who qualified for that phase are still required to comply with their obligations as usual. The allowances for the final year must be surrendered by the last working day of October 2019.

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Framework
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will introduce the new Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) framework to replace the CRC scheme.

The SECR framework will continue to apply to all quoted companies and apply to large UK incorporated unquoted companies (with at least 250 employees or annual turnover greater than £36m and annual balance sheet total greater than £18m).

Qualify companies will be required to report carbon emissions and energy use in their annual report, from April 2019.

Climate Change Levy
From April 2019, the Climate Change Levy (CCL) rate will increase to compensate for the loss of CRC revenue. There will be an overall increase of around 50% for electricity and 70% for gas.

Main rate of CCL are below:

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Published: June 2018

Revokes: BS 7671: 2008 – Requirements for Electrical Installations – Wiring Regulations Seventeenth Edition

Summary

BS 7671:2018 IET Wiring Regulations (18th Edition) sets out the standard for electrical installation in the UK and replaces the 2008 version (17th Edition).

It sets out regulations which apply to the design, erection and verification of electrical installations, and to additions and alterations to existing installations.

Following the guidance in BS 7671 is likely to ensure that electrical installations meet the requirements of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

The requirements in this standard come into effect on 1^st January 2019. Installations designed after 31^st December 2018 will have to comply with BS 7671:2018

A number of changes have been made to the standard which relate to:

• Protection against electric shock;
• Protection against thermal effects;
• Protection against voltage disturbance and electromagnetic disturbances;
• Selection and erection of wiring systems; and
• Complete revision of Chapter 35 – Protection, isolation, switching, control and monitoring.

Purchase the full text from BSI here

Commencement: 24^th July 2018

Amends: The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2864) as amended

Mini Summary

The Motor Vehicles (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 set out obligations related to;

• Driving licences;
• Tests of competence to drive;
• Drivers conduct for goods and passenger vehicles;
• Training courses for motorcycle riders; and
• In relation to health and safety.

Part VI covers disabilities which must be declared on a driving licence.

Amendment

These Regulations allow the holder of a category B licence to drive alternatively fuelled vehicles with a maximum authorised mass exceeding 3,500 kg (the current maximum for category B vehicles). Provided the driver has undertaken five hours of training by a registered instructor this amendment increases the maximum authorised mass for alternatively fuelled vehicles to 4,250 kg when that vehicle is:

• Being driven for the purpose of transporting goods;
• Not being driven outside the territory of Great Britain; and
• Has no trailer attached.

An alternative fuelled vehicle means a motor vehicle powered by electricity, natural gas, biogas or hydrogen; or hydrogen and electricity. 

Under this amendment, alternatively-fuelled vehicles driven on a category B licence will be able to carry the same load as conventionally-fuelled vehicles driven on the same licence. This will encourage the use of alternative fuel in light commercial vehicles.

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Commencement: 25^th June 2018

Amends: Regulation (EU) No.10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food

Mini Summary

Plastic materials and articles that come into contact with food may transfer toxic substances to them and may be a risk to human health. This regulation introduces migration limits for substances used in such packaging and lays down conditions for their use to ensure food safety

Amendment

These Regulations amend Annex I , Table 1 which establishes the list of authorized substances which may be used with food.  It changes the specific migration limit (SML) applicable to the following substance:

• Perchloric acid, salts €“ SML changed from 0.05 to 0.002; and
• Phosphorous acid, mixed 2,4-bis (1,1-dimethylpropyl)phenyl and 4-(1,1-dimethylpropyl)phenyltriesters €“ SML changed from 5 to 10.

These Regulations also add the following substance into Annex I, Table 1:

• 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphtalene-2,6-dicarboxylic acid, dimethyl ester; and
• [3-(2,3-epoxypropoxy)propyl]trimethoxy silane.

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