Source: Legislation .gov.uk
On 29 September 2017 at North Staffordshire Justice Centre, George Holland of Coppice Gardens, Stone, was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £1,855.81 after a successful prosecution by the Environment Agency. Mr Holland was fined £660 for threatening behaviour, ordered to pay costs of £1,129.81 and a victim surcharge of £66.
Mr Holland was originally called to court on 24 April 2017 and was proved guilty in absence for 4 offences. However, the case was reopened under a statutory declaration application from the defendant where he proceeded to enter a not guilty plea.
Mr Holland faced charges of wilfully obstructing a constable in the execution of his duty, fishing without a rod licence, failing to state his name when addressed by an Environment Agency enforcement officer and using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour causing that person to believe that imminent violence will be used against him.
Magistrates heard the case and again found Mr Holland guilty of all charges and issued a fine of £660 for threatening behaviour. While found guilty, he did not receive a further penalty for the additional charges. Mr Holland did not attend court on 29 September, so was again proved guilty in absence.
The offences took place on 23 August 2016 at Isaak Walton Fishery, Chebsey.
Andrew Eardley of the Environment Agency said:
It’s good to see the courts taking instances of threatening behaviour against enforcement officers seriously and offenders being prosecuted. Thankfully cases where an angler is threatening are very rare; most anglers found without a licence, while not happy, admit they have been caught out.
The majority of anglers fish legally and purchase a rod licence. With an annual licence costing £30 it seems ridiculous that anglers risk a significant fine, and the very small minority feel it acceptable to threaten an enforcement officer.
Money from rod licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers including protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease; restoring fish stocks through re-stocking; eradicating invasive species; and fish habitat improvements. Rod licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing and to encourage participation in the sport.
You need a valid Environment Agency rod licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England. Buying a rod licence is easy.
Anyone witnessing illegal fishing incidents in progress can report it directly to the Environment Agency hotline on 0800 80 70 60. Information on illegal fishing and environmental crime can also be reported anonymously to Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111 or online.
Link: Press release: Angler to pay £1,800 after unsuccessful appeal
Source: Environment Agency
Updated: On 27 October 2017 this page was edited to take into account the extension of the deadline of the call for evidence until 20 November 2017.
The government today invited views on how reward and return schemes for drinks containers could work in England by issuing a call for evidence.
More than eight million tonnes of plastic are discarded into the world’s oceans each year, putting marine wildlife under serious threat.
Up to 80% of this is estimated to have been originally lost or discarded on land before washing out to sea, and plastic bottles are a particular concern – with figures showing just 57% of those sold in the UK in 2016 collected for recycling.
This compares to a record 90% of deposit-marked cans and bottles that were returned to dedicated recycling facilities in Denmark, and a return rate of almost 80% of beverage containers in South Australia, both of which have a form of deposit return scheme.
To improve these numbers and increase recycling, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has asked organisations and individuals to share their views with the government on the advantages and disadvantages of different types of reward and return schemes for plastic, metal and glass drinks containers that could help reduce the number of bottles entering our waterways.
The call for evidence opened on 2 October for four weeks. On 27 October this was extended by three weeks to close on 20 November. This will allow as many people as possible to feed in their views on this important inquiry. Ministers have asked the Voluntary and Economic Incentives Working Group, set up as part of the Litter Strategy, to accelerate its work and report back early in the New Year – this timetable has not been altered.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:
We must protect our oceans and marine life from plastic waste if we are to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it.
That means tackling the rise in plastic bottles entering our waters by making it simpler and easier to recycle and dispose of them appropriately.
Today we are launching a call for evidence to help us understand how reward and return schemes for plastic bottles and other drinks containers could work in England.
This approach has already seen great success in other countries such as Denmark in curbing plastic pollution and we want to hear people’s ideas on how we could make it work in England.
This adds to the progress we have already made in cleaning up our oceans by significantly reducing plastic bag use and drawing up one of the world’s toughest bans on plastic microbeads.
The evidence submitted will be examined by the government’s working group which includes brand and retail giants such as Coca Cola and Tesco.
This builds on successful waste initiatives already launched by the government, including the 5p plastic bag charge which has seen enormous success in changing consumer behaviour by reducing use by 83 per cent.
Some nine billion fewer carrier bags have been distributed since the charge was introduced, with more than £95million raised donated to environmental, educational and other good causes.
In addition, legislation for the government’s ban on microbeads – welcomed by campaigners as one of the toughest in the world – will be introduced later this year and we are now assessing how best to tackle other sources of microplastics from polluting the seas.
Link: Press release: Views sought on reward and return schemes for drinks containers
Source: Gov Press Releases
This Order modifies a series of prior Orders (the “prior commencement Orders”, defined below) bringing into force provisions of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 (c. 5) (“the Act”) relating to universal credit (“UC”) and the abolition of income-related employment and support allowance and income-based jobseeker’s allowance.Those prior commencement Orders are:
Link: The Welfare Reform Act 2012 (Commencement No. 17, 19, 22, 23 and 24 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions (Modification)) Order 2017
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
This Order is the first commencement order made by the Welsh Ministers under the Landfill Disposals Tax (Wales) Act 2017 (“the Act”).
Y Gorchymyn hwn yw’r gorchymyn cychwyn cyntaf a wneir gan Weinidogion Cymru o dan Ddeddf Treth Gwarediadau Tirlenwi (Cymru) 2017 (“y Ddeddf”).
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
This Order is the first commencement order made by the Welsh Ministers under the Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016 (“the Act”).
Y Gorchymyn hwn yw’r gorchymyn cychwyn cyntaf a wneir gan Weinidogion Cymru o dan Ddeddf Casglu a Rheoli Trethi (Cymru) 2016 (“y Ddeddf”).
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
This Order is the first commencement order made by the Welsh Ministers under the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 (“the Act”).
Y Gorchymyn hwn yw’r gorchymyn cychwyn cyntaf a wneir gan Weinidogion Cymru o dan Ddeddf Treth Trafodiadau Tir a Gwrthweithio Osgoi Trethi Datganoledig (Cymru) 2017 (“y Ddeddf”).
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
Construction projects across Britain are being urged to act now to ensure the health and safety of their workers is protected as the second phase of a targeted inspection initiative gets underway today.
Link: HSE launches second phase of construction inspection campaign
Source: Health and Safety
A North-West specialist sheet metal fabrication company has been fined after an employee was left seriously injured when metal sheets fell onto his leg.
Link: Company fined after worker seriously injured
Source: Health and Safety
With the salmon fishing season due to close in the Trent catchment area from Sunday 8 October 2017 to Wednesday 31 January 2018 inclusive, the Environment Agency is reminding anglers that failure to comply with statutory rod fishing byelaws could result in prosecution in court and a fine of up to £50,000.
Rod fishing byelaws are statutory rules put in place by the Environment Agency to protect fish stocks and apply to all waters in England, whether they are owned by angling clubs, local councils or private individuals. The close season aims to protect fish stocks from the impacts of angling during the fish breeding season.
Matt Buck, Fisheries Specialist at the Environment Agency, said:
We would like to remind anglers that the salmon fishing season is due to come to a close and they should refrain from fishing for salmon until the start of February next year. This allows the impacts of angling to be minimised in order to protect fish stocks at a time when the fish are breeding.
If anglers catch any salmon by mistake when fishing for other fish throughout the salmon close season, they should allow the salmon to recover by handling them with great care so as not to damage the fish before allowing them to swim off upstream.
Survival rates for salmon are greatly increased if the appropriate angling techniques and equipment are used, and best practices for catching, handling and releasing angled fish are adopted. Between 1 February and 15 June, any salmon caught from any waters should not be removed and must be returned to the water with the least possible injury. Other restrictions also apply during this period and anglers must only use artificial fly or artificial lure to ensure the fish can be returned alive.
Anyone fishing with rod and line in England and Wales must hold a rod fishing licence and comply with the byelaws that cover the waters where they are fishing.
A special salmon and sea trout rod fishing licence is required for anyone wishing to fish for salmon and is available from www.gov.uk/get-a-fishing-licence or by calling the Environment Agency on 0344 800 5386 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. The licence covers one rod for salmon in freshwater. Any salmon taken by rod and line may not be offered for sale.
Catch and release is vital to help protect and restore salmon stocks in our rivers – read our guide for anglers.
Link: Press release: Salmon fishing season in Trent catchment area to come to a close
Source: Environment Agency
