Following a UK-wide consultation conducted by the Government in late 2023, all UK nations have committed to ban single-use vapes, as part of a wider plan to create a smoke free generation.

 

Background

The Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping consultation, which ran in late 2023, was focused on two key areas:

• Creating a smoke free generation.
• Tackling youth vaping.

As the large majority of responses supported the proposed changes to the sale of tobacco products, including vaping products, the Government response outlined a plan to introduce legislation for a stronger regulation of nicotine and non-nicotine products.

 

Common policy

The UK Government, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government expressed their intent to introduce legislation to implement a ban on the sale and supply of disposable vapes, while Northern Ireland officials stated they would consider introducing similar legislation.

 

The main factors leading to the proposed ban on disposable vapes include:

• the rapid increase in the number of young people vaping;
• fire risk posed by the incorrect disposal of such devices; and
• the environmental impact of the millions of disposable vapes littered every year.

UK wide ban by mid-2025

Legislation introducing a ban on the sale and supply of single-use vapes* across all of the UK was published in late 2024.

 

*Single-use vapes include any non-medical device used to vaporise substances, other than tobacco, which is not refillable or rechargeable.

 

Scotland

The first nation to officially introduce a ban on the sale and supply of disposable vapes was Scotland, which introduced The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, prohibiting the sale and supply of single-use vapes from 1^st April 2025. However, the date was pushed back to 1^st June 2025 by The Environmental Protection (Injurious Articles) (Fixed Penalty Notices and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2025.

 

England

The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (England) Regulations 2024, published in November 2024, prohibit the sale and supply of single-use vapes in England from 1^st June 2025.

 

Wales

The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Wales) Regulations 2024, published in December 2024, prohibit the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Wales from 1^st June 2025.

 

Northern Ireland

The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024, published in December 2024, prohibit the sale and supply of single-use vapes in Northern Ireland from 1^st June 2025.

 

Those who sell or supply single use vapes illegally may be fined or imprisoned. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing compliance.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, also known as the CDM Regulations, came into force on 6th April 2015. Its main purpose is to protect the health, safety and welfare of people involved in construction work. The scope of the CDM can prove problematic for organisations, which sometimes struggle with the exact interpretation of the term ‘construction work’ and whether CDM applies to them.

This short article aims to clarify a number of key terms and to enable organisations to better understand how CDM applies to their activities, as it will apply for the vast majority of organisations.

It’s common to think of CDM and construction as applying to new building projects, but it equally applies to maintenance, renovations, repairs and demolition works, as well as works involving fixed services.
Application
CDM applies to all construction work, no matter how large or small, how short or long in duration, or whether the work is commercial or domestic (N.B. domestic DIY projects are exempt from CDM, however significant work may require building control approval).

The regulations refer to ‘construction projects’ and its often asked whether short duration construction tasks should be viewed as a ‘project’. The simple answer is yes, any construction works are considered projects, regardless of duration and complexity, including:

• the alteration, conversion, fitting out, commissioning, renovation, repair, upkeep, de-commissioning, demolition or dismantling of structures;
• the preparation for an intended structure, such as site clearance, exploration and investigation;
• the assembling or dissembling of prefabricated elements to form a structure;
• the removal of structures, or of any product or waste resulting from their removal or dissembling; and
• the installation, commissioning, maintenance, repair or removal of mechanical, electrical, gas, compressed air, hydraulic, telecommunications, computer or similar services which are normally fixed within or to a structure.

Construction work encompasses a wide range of tasks related to building and structural engineering, including the creation, modification, and maintenance of structures. The list of structures goes beyond buildings and includes docks, pipelines, cables, river works and masts, as well as any other structure similar to those listed in regulation 2.
CDM duty holders and project phases
Under CDM, a number of roles are established:

• Client – any person a project is carried out for. Key duties of a client are to ensure appropriate resources and facilities are made available for a project, notify the HSE where a project is notifiable, and that wider competent duty holders are appointed and fulfil their responsibilities. For domestic clients their duties are normally fulfilled by the wider duty holders.
• Designer / Principal Designer – any person (including a client, contractor or other person referred to in these Regulations) who prepares or modifies a construction design. Designers are primarily responsible for the design and pre-construction phases of a project, ensuring that the general principles of prevention are included within designs and preparing a health and safety plan.
• Contractor / Principal Contractor – any person (including a non-domestic client) who, in the course or furtherance of a business, carries out, manages or controls construction Contractors are primarily responsible for the pre-construction and construction phases of a project developing a construction phase plan and managing construction work so that it is completed safely.

N.B. When a project involves more than 1 contractor, a principal designer (PD) and principal contractor (PC) must be appointed. One organisation may fulfil multiple roles under CDM, for example, a building company may be both the designer and contractor for the project.

A summary of the key duties of duty holders and general requirements for all construction sites can be found in The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 on the Legislation Update Service.
Key points to remember

• Construction is not just the erection of buildings, construction work and CDM applies to pretty much every organisation through maintenance and redecoration etc.
• CDM applies to all construction work (including demolition), except for domestic DIY.
• A client, designer and contractor might be the same organisation or person (this is common for organisations who do their own repairs and maintenance to buildings).
• Providing general H&S is already well managed already within your organisation, fulfilling CDM duties when carrying out maintenance and repairs does not need to be complex.

Given the wide-reaching scope of CDM, it applies to virtually every organisation even if only through client duties.

If you’re a LUS subscriber and have any questions on how to ensure you fulfil your duties under CDM you can submit a Helpline on LUS for support.
Not a subscriber to the Legislation Update Service? Find out more here about the benefits of a subscription.

The HSE defines vulnerable workers as “individuals who are at risk of having their workplace entitlements denied and who lack the capacity to secure them”. They are at a higher risk to suffer injury, illness or even fatality at work, compared to the rest of workforce.

There are different categories of vulnerable workers, including:

• pregnant workers and new mothers;
• young workers;
• elderly workers;
• inexperienced workers;
• gig economy, agency, and temporary workers;
• migrant workers;
• disabled workers;
• lone workers; and
• homeworkers.

Risk assessment
When becoming aware of a vulnerable worker, employers are encouraged to review their existing risk assessment before the individual starts or continues in their role. Where the current risk assessment and arrangements in place already protect vulnerable persons then no further action may be required, but in many cases an individual risk assessment may be needed, considering the characteristics of the worker.

The process for assessing the risk to vulnerable workers is the same as that for general workers, but there should be specific focus on factors that make them more susceptible to harm which will often require input from the employee(s) and possibly others such as medical professionals too.

In the case of new and expectant mothers, there is an absolute duty under The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 for the employer to complete an individual risk assessment, when an employee informs them in writing that they:

• are pregnant;
• are breastfeeding; or
• have given birth in the last 6 months.

The HSE has produced guidance on vulnerable workers and considerations when assessing the risk here.
Reasonable adjustments
Where possible, risk assessments should not be used to prevent a person from working, but instead enable the employer to make reasonable adjustments so that the employee can continue to work safely and without risk of harm to their health. However, in the case of new or expectant mothers there is the option to suspend the worker for the duration where risk may not be avoided.

The extent of “reasonable” will depend, among other things, on the size and nature of the business. Employers are not required to do more than what is considered reasonable (e.g. installing a lift can be an unreasonable adjustment for a small business, due to excessive cost).

To decide if an adjustment is reasonable, an employer should consider if:

• it will reduce risk effectively;
• is practical to make;
• is affordable; and
• whether it could harm the health and safety of others.

It’s important when deciding to make or not make reasonable adjustments to protect workers that it does not result in non-compliance to other relevant legislation. For example failure to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled worker would be considered discrimination under the Equality Act 2010.

Currently waste authorities and waste collectors across England must collect at least 2 types of recyclable household waste (or similar) separately to general waste from domestic premises, relevant non-domestic premises (residential homes, educational premises, hospitals and nursing homes) and business premises.

The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024 extends this requirement to additional relevant non-domestic premises, and provides specific descriptions for the six types of recyclable waste (known as recyclable waste streams) in Schedule 1. The 6 recyclable waste streams are:

• glass;
• metal;
• plastic;
• paper and card;
• food waste; and
• garden waste.

The Regulations also support the transition to new rules starting in 2025 which will require the separate collection of recyclable waste streams from domestic, relevant non-domestic and business premises. The new rules will ensure that all councils and waste collectors across England are collecting recyclable waste consistently.
Extended rules
From 30^th June 2024 additional types of premises are added to the list of relevant non-domestic premises, from which 2 types of recyclable household waste must be collected from. The five types of premises added are:

• places of worship;
• penal institutions;
• charity shops selling goods donated from domestic premises;
• hostels housing people with no other permanent address; and
• premises used mainly or solely for public meetings.

Future rules
The new rules coming into effect in 2025 and 2026 will require every waste authority and collector in England to ensure that all relevant recyclable waste streams are collected separately from general waste from domestic, relevant non-domestic and business premises.

There are also requirements to keep certain recyclable waste streams separate from others.

• Glass, metal, plastic and paper and card waste streams may be collected together, or separately from each other, but must be separate from general waste, food waste and garden waste.
• Food and garden waste streams may be collected together, or separately from each other, but must be separate from general waste and any other type of recyclable waste.

N.B. The requirement to collect garden waste does not apply to waste collections from business premises or relevant non-domestic premises.

From 31^st March 2025 these rules will apply to collections of:

• household waste from relevant non-domestic premises; and
• industrial and commercial waste from business premises.

From 31^st March 2026 these rules will apply to collections of:

• household waste from domestic properties.

N.B. Some councils have extended deadlines to implement the new rules, these are listed in the Schedule of The Environment Act 2021 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024.
Background
The overhaul of recycling requirements in England is being implemented through a number of amendments to laws which have been published in advance, so that waste authorities, collectors, organisations and individuals can prepare for the changes.

The wider current duties for waste authorities and collectors under Regulation 13 of The Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 continue to apply alongside the old section 45A of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which will be repealed when the new rules come into force.

The new rules for waste collections applying from 2025 and 2026 can be found in sections 45A to 45AZG of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which have been replaced through section 57 of the Environment Act 2021, which came into force through The Environment Act 2021 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024.

Background
The emissions trading scheme (ETS) is a carbon emission trading scheme that runs in both the UK (UK ETS) and EU (EU ETS)  supporting net zero commitments. It works on a cap-and-trade system with a cap on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

Participants in the scheme are required to obtain and surrender allowances to cover their annual greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Organisations can purchase allowances at auction, or trade them amongst themselves.

UK ETS currently covers emissions from power and heat generation, energy intensive industries and aviation.
Proposed changes
The UK ETS Authority (UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for Northern Ireland) is seeking  views on proposals for expanding the UK ETS to the waste sector. The goal of this expansion is to capture more emissions and increase decarbonisation.

In the Authority Response to the previous ‘Developing the UK ETS’ consultation, the following points were confirmed.

• The scope of the scheme will be expanded to include emissions from waste incineration facilities in the UK ETS from 2028.
• There will be a two-year transitional phasing period, from January 2026 – December 2027, where installations will monitor, report, and verify their emissions but won’t be required to purchase and surrender UK ETS allowances.
• The emissions cap will be adjusted to take account of the new scope of the scheme.
• Hazardous or clinical waste will not be exempt.
• The obligation for monitoring, reporting and verification will be placed on the operators of waste incineration and energy from waste facilities.
• The existing Ultra-Small Emitters threshold (less than 2,500 tonnes of CO2e) will still apply, so participants in the waste sector below this threshold could apply for the status. The Hospital and Small Emitter threshold (less than 25,000 tonnes of CO2e) will also apply, but the thermal input threshold will not.
• Fossil CO2 emissions will be covered in the expansion to waste incineration and energy from waste.
• Different mechanisms for distributing costs will be explored to ensure fairness.

The consultation

• the scope of the scheme, including which activities are covered, thresholds for inclusion and exemptions;
• scheme participations, including requirements for operators, monitoring, reporting and verification, and guidance;
• impacts of the scheme and risks, including diversion of waste to landfill and waste export, decarbonisation pathways for customers, and cost pass through to customers;
• how to adjust the UK ETS cap for waste;
• how the UK ETS could potentially incentivise investment in heat networks.

You can view and give your views on the proposed changes to UK ETS here.

For LUS subscribers you can view this consultation and many more on the links below:

Health and safety consultations
Environment consultations

A new UK version of EN ISO 45001 was published by the British Standards Institution (BSI) on 31^st August 2023. The new BS EN ISO 45001:2023 supersedes BS ISO 45001:2018 which is now withdrawn.

The new version for the UK is identical to BS ISO 45001:2018, as such organisations are not required to buy a copy of the updated version. The certification process remains unchanged with certification bodies certifying against the international version of the standard (ISO 45001:2018). The update was required to transpose the European version of the standard at a national level.

As such the new version of the standard should have no impact on UK organisations who are certified or working towards being certified against ISO 45001. Further detail on the change and the difference between versions of the standard is explained below.
Meaning of abbreviations
ISO – refers to international standards, issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

EN – refers to standards that are adopted at European level, for a better integration of national standards.

BS – refers to UK standards, issued by the British Standards Institution (BSI).

 
What is ISO 45001?
ISO 45001 is the globally recognised occupational health and safety standard (OH&S) developed by the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). The standard specifies requirements for an OH&S management system and provides a framework for risk management and and improved risk management within organisations. The current version the Standard is ISO 45001:2018.

 
What is EN ISO 45001:2023?
EN ISO 45001:2023 is the European version of the ISO 45001 standard. It was updated in 2023, but the content is identical to ISO 45001:2018.

Following this update, the National Standardisation Bodies in Europe, (including BSI in the UK) were required to transpose this change into national standards by February 2024.

The next application window for free allocations, as well as for Hospital Small Emitter and Ultra Small Emitter schemes, has been moved to 1st April 2025 – 30th June 2025. Operators not applying for free allocations must also provide information to the UK ETS Authority during this window.
Background
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (UK ETS) was introduced by The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020, following the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union. The scheme was designed to maintain continuity with the EU ETS and began on 1st January 2021.
How does it work
A cap on the total amount of certain greenhouse gases (GHG) that can be emitted by sectors covered by the scheme is set by the UK ETS Authority. The cap is reduced over time, so that total emissions must fall.

Within this cap, free allowances are issued to eligible participants while other emission allowances can be purchased at auction or on the secondary market and traded with other participants as needed. Each year, the participants covered by the scheme must surrender allowances to cover their reportable emissions.
Who the UK ETS applies to
The UK ETS covers greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from:

• power and heat generation;
• energy intensive industries; and
• aviation.

Simplified requirements apply for:

• hospitals, and small emitters (with emissions lower than 25000 tonnes of CO2 per year); and
• ultra-small emitters (with emissions lower than 2500 tonnes per year).

Allocation periods
Phase I of the UK ETS runs from 2021 to 2030 and is split into 2 allocation periods:

• 2021-2025 allocation period; and
• 2026-2030 allocation period.

Before each allocation period, participants must apply for the relevant scheme, during the specified application window. The application window for the 2026 – 2030 period, was previously set as 1st April 2024 – 30th June 2024.
What is changing?
The next application window for free allocations, as well as for Hospital Small Emitter and Ultra Small Emitter schemes, has been moved to 1st April 2025 – 30th June 2025. Operators not applying for free allocations must also provide information to the UK ETS Authority during this window.

Why is it changing?
The application window is moved due to an on-going consultation on changes to free allocation policy, opened by the UK ETS Authority. A final decision in response to this consultation is expected by the end of 2024.

Moving the application windows to 1 April 2025 – 30 June 2025 will enable the UK ETS Authority to finalise the policy for the 2026-2030 allocation period.

This will allow operators to determine:

• their eligibility;
• what free allocations they are applying for;
• which data to submit; and
• whether they should apply under the HSE or USE schemes.

The change to application windows aims to provide certainty to UK ETS operators about what the free allocation rules will be during the allocation period 2026-2030 before they apply.

Detailed guidance on participating in the UK ETS can be accessed here.