Press release: No waste permit costs driver

Caught driving a tipper truck full of waste without being registered with the Environment Agency has today (Mon 18/9) cost Patrick Egan £965.

Egan of Grange Road, Grays was convicted in his absence by Basildon magistrates of driving the truck without being registered as a waste carrier nor being employed by a registered waste carrier.

The court fined him £660 and ordered that as well as the fine he should pay a victim surcharge of £66, Environment Agency costs of £85 and compensation of £154.

The tipper truck was stopped by police in Gumley Road, Grays in the course of an investigation into fly-tipping.

When the vehicle was stopped in January this year it was loaded with rubble, bricks and plasterboard.

Don’t ignore advice

Egan told them the vehicle belonged to a friend called James whom he sometimes did favours for, such as driving lorries, and was paid £100 to drive it.

He said he did not check the load.

After the hearing an Environment Agency officer spokesperson said: “People driving tipper trucks such as Mr Egan drove have a responsibility to check the load and to be properly permitted by the Environment Agency. It is not good enough to ignore this advice as the court decision has shown today.”

The cost of registering with the Environment Agency in 2017 is £154. The registration is valid for 3 years.



Press release: No waste permit costs driver

Caught driving a tipper truck full of waste without being registered with the Environment Agency has today (Mon 18/9) cost Patrick Egan £965.

Egan of Grange Road, Grays was convicted in his absence by Basildon magistrates of driving the truck without being registered as a waste carrier nor being employed by a registered waste carrier.

The court fined him £660 and ordered that as well as the fine he should pay a victim surcharge of £66, Environment Agency costs of £85 and compensation of £154.

The tipper truck was stopped by police in Gumley Road, Grays in the course of an investigation into fly-tipping.

When the vehicle was stopped in January this year it was loaded with rubble, bricks and plasterboard.

Don’t ignore advice

Egan told them the vehicle belonged to a friend called James whom he sometimes did favours for, such as driving lorries, and was paid £100 to drive it.

He said he did not check the load.

After the hearing an Environment Agency officer spokesperson said: “People driving tipper trucks such as Mr Egan drove have a responsibility to check the load and to be properly permitted by the Environment Agency. It is not good enough to ignore this advice as the court decision has shown today.”

The cost of registering with the Environment Agency in 2017 is £154. The registration is valid for 3 years.



Policy paper: Government response to the Select Committee report: the future of public parks

This publication sets out the response by Marcus Jones, Minister for Parks and Green Spaces, to the 17 recommendations made by the Communities and Local Government Select Committee in their report published on 30 January 2017.



News story: Reducing regulatory burden: the Ofqual handbook and more

Ofqual announces package of measures to reduce regulatory burden, including a new online handbook.

Today (19 September 2017) Ofqual is announcing a package of measures that support our commitment to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden.

In October, we will be launching a preview version of the Ofqual handbook – a new, online resource that brings together all our general rules and guidance, making them easier to use and understand.

We are also confirming several changes to our wider regulatory framework, removing some unnecessary rules and updating others.

The Ofqual handbook

We have designed the handbook to replace 6 existing documents. It will provide:

  • simpler, at-a-glance, navigation – related requirements and guidance are grouped together, with no need to navigate between different documents
  • enhanced interactivity – including hyperlinked cross-references and tooltips on defined terms
  • better accessibility – built using GOV.UK, the handbook complies with a wide range of accessibility standards, and is compatible with assistive software such as screen readers, speech recognition and magnifiers

The handbook will be available alongside the existing documents during a test period (which runs until the end of the year). We will be seeking feedback on the handbook before taking a final decision on rollout in early 2018. We will be previewing the Ofqual handbook in a live webinar on 5 October. We will also be holding face-to-face workshops on 24 October, 27 October and 7 November, for those who are interested to learn more about it and provide feedback.

Reviewing our regulatory framework

Today, we are confirming a number of changes that remove redundant rules.

  1. In line with our earlier announcement, we have withdrawn our ‘Criteria for Key Skills Qualifications’.
  2. We have also withdrawn our legacy subject criteria for the GCSEs, AS and A levels that were reformed for first teaching in September 2015. Students can no longer take these qualifications, so we no longer need these rules. Our rules covering reviews and appeals in these qualifications remain in force.
  3. We have published new versions of our qualification-level ‘Conditions for reformed and legacy GCSEs, AS and A levels’. These new versions simplify our rules by removing transitional arrangements that are no longer in force.

We have also published a new version of our ‘Specifications in relation to the reasonable adjustment of general qualifications’. This updates the document to reflect changes made by the ‘Equality Act 2010 (General Qualifications Bodies) (Appropriate Regulator and Relevant Qualifications) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2017’.



News story: Government welcomes proposals outlined by the Takeover Panel

Business Secretary Greg Clark has welcomed proposals outlined today by the Takeover Panel, the independent body responsible for issuing and administering the Takeover Code. A consultation is seeking views on important reforms to the way takeovers operate in the UK.

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark, said:

One of Britain’s biggest assets in competing in the global economy is our deserved reputation for being a dependable and confident place in which to do business.

The Takeover Panel is a respected and important part of this regime and the Government welcomes the valuable changes it is proposing. They will require bidders to make earlier and fuller disclosure of their plans for the target company, including its research and development, location of HQ, and the composition and skills of its workforce; and give companies subject to a bid more time to prepare their response.

This autumn the Business Secretary will be publishing proposals that address the national security concerns that can arise from foreign investment. These will set out further measures to safeguard national security, while ensuring the UK remains a global champion of free trade and investment.

Notes to editor:

  • Takeovers of publicly listed companies in the UK must abide by the Takeover Code, which sets out an orderly framework for how takeovers must be conducted.
  • The Takeover Panel is an independent body which issues and administers the Takeover Code, and supervises and regulates takeovers. Its principal objective is to ensure fair treatment for all shareholders in takeover bids.
  • The Takeover Panel’s consultation will run for 6 weeks
  • The Code Committee is proposing changes to the Code which would require:
    1. bidders to be more specific in their plans for a target company. This would include making statements of intention regarding: the company’s research and development, the balance of skills and functions of the company’s employees, and the location of the company’s headquarters;
    2. statements of intention to be made at the time of a bidder’s announcement of its firm intention to make an offer;
    3. bidders to not publish an offer document for 14 days from the announcement of their intention to make an offer without the consent of the board of the target company; and
    4. companies to publish reports on their compliance with the plans they announced during the course of an offer.