These Regulations amend the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995 (“the 1995 Regulations”) and the Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981.
Link: The Goods and Motor Vehicles (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, has appointed Judith Batchelar OBE, Robert Gould, John Lelliott OBE and Caroline Mason CBE for first terms to the Board of the Environment Agency. He has also reappointed Lynne Frostick and Gill Weeks OBE for second terms to the Board.
Robert Gould’s and John Lelliott’s appointments will run from 1 February 2018 until 31 January 2021. Judith Batchelar and Caroline Mason’s appointments will run from 1 April 2018 until 31 March 2021. Gill Weeks and Lynne Frostick’s reappointments run from 8 September 2017 until 7 September 2020 and 6 March 2018 until 15 March 2021 respectively.
Secretary of State Michael Gove said:
I am delighted to welcome John, Robert, Caroline and Judith. They will bring a strong and broad mix of skills and experience to the Environment Agency.
I am also thrilled that Gill and Lynne will be continuing to help us with meeting the challenges ahead.
Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency said:
I am looking forward to working with John, Robert, Caroline and Judith on some of the greatest environmental challenges of our time. It was a highly competitive selection process and they will each bring a broad range of experience and expertise to the Environment Agency.
All appointments to the Environment Agency Board are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. The appointments comply with the Ministerial Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Board members provide non-executive leadership challenge and support to the Environment Agency’s executive through regular Board meetings, committees and groups. They also undertake individual lead roles on relevant issues and with local operational teams.
The Environment Agency is a Non-Departmental Public Body set up under the Environment Act 1995 to take an integrated approach to environmental protection and enhancement in England. It has major responsibilities in flood management, water resources and quality, climate change, land quality, chemicals, pollution prevention and control, waste, conservation and biodiversity, fisheries conservation, air quality and navigation.
There is a requirement for appointees’ political activity (if significant) to be declared. All the appointees have confirmed that they have not undertaken any significant political activity during the past 5 years apart from Robert Gould, who is a member of West Dorset District Council and a former leader of both Dorset County Council and West Dorset District Council.
Environment Agency Board members receive remuneration of £350 per day. Judith Batchelar, Robert Gould, John Lelliott and Caroline Mason will each receive £16,800 per year based on a time commitment of four days per month. Gill Weeks will receive £21,000 per year based on a time commitment of five days per month. Lynne Frostick will receive £25,200 per year based on a time commitment of six days per month.
Judith Batchelar is Director of Sainsbury’s Brand, Corporate Responsibility and Public Affairs at J Sainsbury plc, where she has worked since 2004. She previously worked for Safeway, Marks and Spencer, Mars Confectionary and Bass plc. Judith is also a Co-Chair of the Agri-food Technology Leadership Council, an Industrial Governor of the British Nutrition Foundation and an Ambassador for the Woodland Trust. Judith was appointed OBE in 2015 for services to farming and the food industry.
Professor Lynne Frostick is both a chartered geologist and a geographer with an academic background in environmental science. She was Professor of Physical Geography at Hull University from 1996 to 2014 and is now Professor Emerita. She has published over 100 papers and books on environmental physics, modelling and hydraulic engineering. She was the first female Honorary Secretary (1988 – 1991) and second female President (2008-10) of the Geological Society of London. She was a member of the North East Regional Environmental Protection Advisory Committee (1997 – 2006) and a leading member of the 2007 independent Hull Flood Review Group. In 2009, she was named both Yorkshire’s environmental champion and Woman of Outstanding Achievement for leadership in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). She chaired the Government’s Expert Group for Women in STEM for 8 years and sat on the Athena Swan committee based in the Royal Society. She has been awarded an honorary DSc by both Royal Holloway University, London and the University of Hull. Lynne joined the Board of the Environment Agency in 2015.
Robert Gould was Leader of Dorset County Council from 2014 to 2017 and a member from 2009 to 2017. He has been a member of West Dorset District Council since 2004 and was Leader from 2004 to 2014. Robert was a member of the Local Government Association’s Improvement and Innovation Board from 2015 to 2017. He previously managed the family farm after working in industry and property management.
John Lelliott retired as Chief Financial Officer of the Crown Estate in 2016. He is currently a Board Member of the Covent Garden Market Authority where he chairs the Audit and Risk Committee. He is also Chair of the Natural Capital Coalition and Non-Executive Director of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospital Foundation Trust where he chairs the finance committee and is a member of the audit committee. John was appointed OBE in 2017 for services to the Crown Estate and the voluntary sector.
Caroline Mason is Chief Executive of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, one of the UK’s largest independent grant-making foundations. She was previously Chief Operating Officer of Big Society Capital and Chief Operating Officer of Charity Bank. Before that she was co-founder and COO of Investing for Good, an enterprise offering social investment advice. Caroline is also a Board Member of the European Venture Philanthropy Association. Caroline was appointed CBE in 2013 for services to social investment.
Gill Weeks is an industry expert within the field of waste and resource management. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and a Chartered Environmentalist. Gill joined the Board of the Environment Agency in 2014. She currently chairs the Environment and Business Committee and is a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. Gill is also the Board lead on waste and industrial processes. From 2006 to 2013 Gill was Regulatory Affairs Director at Veolia Environmental Services and was acting Policy Director at Environmental Services Association 2010-11. Gill was appointed OBE in 2011 for services to the waste management sector.
Link: Press release: Appointments to the Board of the Environment Agency
Source: Gov Press Releases
This Order specifies the earnings percentage used to calculate the levy ceiling (article 2), the amount of the levy ceiling (article 3) and the standard amount of the compensation cap (article 4) for use in relation to the Pension Protection Fund in the financial year beginning on 1st April 2018.
Link: The Pension Protection Fund and Occupational Pension Schemes (Levy Ceiling and Compensation Cap) Order 2018
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
These Regulations specify those motor sport governing bodies which are authorised to issue permits under section 12B of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for the purpose of motor racing on public highways in Wales.
Mae’r Rheoliadau hyn yn pennu’r cyrff llywodraethu chwaraeon moduron hynny sydd ag awdurdod i ddyroddi trwyddedau o dan adran 12B o Ddeddf Traffig Ffyrdd 1988 at ddiben rasio moduron ar briffyrdd cyhoeddus yng Nghymru.
Link:
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
New powers to tackle the serious problem of waste crime will be granted, and further action opened for consultation in a crack-down on illegal sites, Environment Minister Therese Coffey announced today following the recent launch of the 25 Year Environment Plan.
Waste crime cost the English economy more than £600m in 2015, including lost landfill tax revenues and clean-up costs, and creates severe problems for people who live or work nearby with odour, dust, litter, vermin, fly infestations, pollution and fires blighting lives. Waste criminals also undercut genuine businesses who dispose of waste responsibly.
New powers will therefore be introduced for the Environment Agency (EA) to lock the gates or block access to problem waste sites to prevent thousands of tonnes of waste illegally building up. The powers will also enable the EA to force operators to clear all the waste at a problem waste site, not just the illegal waste.
The government has also launched a new consultation to tackle crime and poor performance in the waste sector. Proposals include raising the bar required to hold EA waste permits, and putting a stop to criminals hiding their illegal activities by requiring them to register low-risk waste operations which are currently exempt from the need to hold a permit.
The consultation proposes improving awareness amongst householders, so people can check on the EA website to see if the recipient of their waste is licensed to take their waste, or their duty to pass waste to legitimate carriers.
It also suggests providing local authorities with the option of fining those whose waste ends up fly-tipped or illegally dumped rather than having to pursue them through the courts. Latest statistics show that some of the worst hit areas include London which saw over 360,000 fly-tipping incidents last year and the North West of England which saw 128,000 incidents in 2016/17.
Environment Minister Therese Coffey said:
Waste crime and fly-tipping blight our communities and spoil our countryside, and we need determined action to tackle it.
These new powers for the Environment Agency will curb the rise of waste sites that continue to operate outside the law.
But we must all take responsibility for our waste to make sure it does not end up in the hands of criminals who will wilfully dump it. Our new consultation looks more widely at the waste sector and we are keen to hear from industry and the public how we can improve performance, tackle illegality and protect our precious environment.
More than 850 new illegal waste sites were discovered by the EA in 2016-17. While an average of two illegal waste sites are shut down every day, they continue to create severe problems for local communities and business as well as posing a risk to key national infrastructure.
In 2013, for example, a fire at a waste site in Stockport resulted in the closure of the M60 motorway and three weeks of disruption to traffic, residents and businesses. By empowering the EA further, these measures will help prevent such disruption.
Household waste is also a problem and makes up nearly two thirds of fly-tipped waste. Currently local authorities can only prosecute householders in court but a new fixed penalty notice would be less costly to enforce for local authorities, and more proportionate for householders.
The government is clear however that new fixed penalty notices should not be abused simply as a means of raising money. Guidance on how the fines should be applied will therefore be issued to councils.
Emma Howard Boyd, Chair of the Environment Agency, said:
We take tough action against anyone involved in illegal waste activity and last year, the Environment Agency >closed down two illegal waste sites every day. We welcome these new powers, which will enable our teams to block access to problem sites, preventing illegal waste building up and becoming even more serious.
This will allow us to take faster action against criminals and will make a real difference to communities, but >everyone has a role to play. We all need to check our waste is going to the right place and is handled by the right people.
The new powers for the EA to tackle problem waste sites will be introduced by spring 2018, subject to parliamentary approval. This follows a public consultation in which an overwhelming majority (90%) of respondents were in favour of allowing regulators to take physical steps, such as locking the gates to an illegal waste site, to prevent operators from accepting more illegally dumped waste and enabling the EA to require all the waste to be removed.
Link: Press release: New steps to tackle illegal waste and fly-tipping announced
Source: Environment Agency
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Source: Legislation .gov.uk
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Source: Legislation .gov.uk
These Regulations amend the Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/1024) which prescribe the rules for the conduct of local mayoral elections in England and Wales.
Link: The Local Authorities (Mayoral Elections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2018
Source: Legislation .gov.uk
Office buildings
Data processing
Offices (interior spaces)
Consumers
Optical fibres
Fibre optics
Electric cables
Link: BS ISO/IEC 11801-2:2017 Information technology. Generic cabling for customer premises Office premises
Source: BSI Standards
Link: ISO 18841:2018 Interpreting services. General requirements and recommendations
Source: BSI Standards
