It is possible, although rare, for a bat infected with rabies to pass the disease on to other mammals, including humans.

The most recent case of rabies in a bat in Great Britain was in July 2018.

Signs that a bat may have rabies

Infected bats may not show any signs of rabies. Infection can only be confirmed in a laboratory.

But clinical signs in bats may include:

• behaviour changes: infected animals are prone to more aggression
• disorientation and difficulty flying (infected bats may be injured as a result)
• eyes taking on a staring expression

How rabies is spread

Rabies is present in the saliva of infected bats and is usually spread by the bite of an infected bat.

The disease can also be spread if the saliva of an infected animal gets into open wounds or mucous membranes such as the nostrils, mouth and lips, eyelids and ears.

Risk to humans from infected bats

Humans can catch rabies from a bat, although this is very unusual as the disease is very rare among bats in Great Britain.

In humans symptoms of the disease include:

• anxiety, headaches and fever in early stages
• spasms of the swallowing muscles making it difficult or impossible to drink
• breathing difficulties

There are vaccinations against rabies, and the disease can normally be prevented if you are treated soon after exposure. But once signs of rabies appear, there is no treatment. Past human cases have been fatal.

Read the NHS guide to rabies for more information about the disease in humans.

How to avoid catching rabies from a bat

You should be vaccinated against rabies if you regularly handle bats.

If you have not been vaccinated against the disease:

• assume that all bats are possible carriers of rabies
• avoid touching bats, living or dead, whenever possible
• if you must touch a bat, follow the Bat Conservation Trust guidance and wear thick gloves to avoid being bitten or scratched

If you are bitten or scratched by a bat

If you suspect rabies in a bat

If you suspect rabies in a bat or you see abnormal behavior in a bat contact APHA for help.

APHA vets will investigate and may submit the bat for testing to see whether the signs were caused by rabies.

If you find a dead bat

If you find a dead bat:

• do not directly handle the bat if possible
• if you have to touch the bat follow the Bat Conservation Trust guidance and use thick gloves
• follow the Bat Conservation Trust guidance on what to do with the dead bat

If your pet finds a bat

It is possible, although very rare, for infected bats to pass rabies to other animals including pets.

If your pet catches a bat, keep your pet under observation.

If your pet falls sick or starts behaving unusually, you must contact your vet immediately. Your vet will tell APHA if he or she suspects your pet has rabies.

Monitoring rabies in bats in Great Britain

APHA tests dead bats submitted by the public to monitor how widespread the disease is in Great Britain.

Only 21 infected bats have been found in more than 15,000 tests since 1986, so the risk of catching rabies from a bat is very low.

Site	Location	Dates
1	Newhaven, Sussex	1996
2	Carnforth, Lancashire	2002
3	Blackburn, Lancashire	2003
4	Staines, Surrey	2004
5	Abingdon, Oxford	2006
6	Craven Arms, Shropshire (3 cases)	2007, 2008 and 2014
7	Teddington, Surrey	2008
8	Linlithgow, West Lothian, SCOTLAND	2009
9	Newtown, Powys, WALES	2015
10	Skipton, Yorkshire	2016
11	Haydon Bridge, Northumberland	2016
12	Chesterfield, Derbyshire	2017
13	Peterborough, Cambridgeshire	2018
14**	Robertsbridge, East Sussex (5 cases)	2018
15	Rothbury, Northumberland	2018

** Once a positive case is confirmed at a site, we will not publicise further incidents there during the given year’s ‘bat season’ – May to September.

‘Notifiable’ diseases are animal diseases that you’re legally obliged to report to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), even if you only suspect that an animal may be affected.

Notifiable diseases can be:

• endemic – already present in the UK, such as bovine TB
• exotic – not normally present in the UK, such as foot and mouth disease

Some endemic and exotic diseases are zoonotic which means they can pass between animals and humans, such as rabies.

What happens if you suspect a notifiable disease

If you suspect an exotic notifiable disease:

1. Report it by calling the Defra Rural Services Helpline on 03000 200 301.
2. APHA vets will investigate – they usually visit your premises and carry out an enquiry. The APHA duty vet will tell you what restrictions should be applied to your premises before the APHA veterinary inspector arrives.
3. If the APHA veterinary inspector suspects a notifiable disease, they will take samples for testing (this may involve killing the suspected animal before taking samples).
4. They put restrictions on your premises. This means you must at least stop moving animals susceptible to the disease on or off the premises. It can also include stopping the movement of anything that can transmit disease, like meat products, equipment or vehicles.
5. If certain diseases are suspected (particularly foot and mouth disease or African horse sickness) a temporary control zone will be introduced around your premises. This restricts the movements of animals susceptible to the disease.
6. Restrictions remain in place until the investigation is complete and an exotic notifiable disease is ruled out.

What happens if a notifiable disease is confirmed

If a notifiable disease is confirmed:

1. Action will be taken on the infected premises to reduce the risk of the disease spreading, including movement restrictions. For some diseases, like foot and mouth disease and African swine fever, this will include culling all susceptible animals. Premises are then cleaned and disinfected with strict rules on restocking.
2. The government investigates where the disease came from and whether it has spread.
3. The government puts restrictions on all premises where the disease is likely to have spread from or to (for example when animals have been moved).
4. Further restrictions in a wider area may be introduced, depending on the risk of the disease spreading. In the case of foot and mouth disease in particular, animal movements would be restricted throughout the country. For some diseases control zones are automatically applied. APHA will tell you what action to take – this depends on the nature of the disease and EU requirements.
5. The following activities that could spread disease may be banned:
   • hunting or shooting
   • animal gatherings (like shows)
   • exports

Controlling exotic notifiable diseases

Contingency plans outline how the government will manage an exotic notifiable disease outbreak:

• Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases for England
• United Kingdom contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals

How to prevent notifiable diseases

You can help prevent notifiable diseases by following:

• strict biosecurity practices
• rules on imports and exports
• rules on feeding to farmed livestock

Animals or birds spared from culling

For most notifiable diseases, there are legal powers to cull animals to prevent the spread of disease during an outbreak.

Certain animals and birds, including breeds at risk, may be spared from culling if this doesn’t compromise controlling the disease (this isn’t guaranteed).

Find out more about animals and birds that may be spared from culling.

Compensation when animals are slaughtered compulsorily

For some notifiable diseases, you may get compensation if your animals or birds are compulsorily culled.

Get notified about exotic disease outbreaks

You can get the latest news about exotic notifiable disease outbreaks from the APHA subscription service.

The Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey is funded by Natural England, with support from Defra.

The survey relates to engagement with the natural environment. By natural environment we mean all green, blue and open spaces in and around towns and cities as well as the wider countryside and coastline.

• The main focus of the survey is people’s experiences of nature, including time spent on visits to the outdoors in the natural environment, away from home. By visits we mean discretionary time, ranging from a few minutes out of the home to an all day trip. Visits may include time spent close to home or further afield, potentially while on holiday in England. Routine shopping trips or time spent in a person’s own garden are not included in the definition of a visit in MENE.

The data collected also includes other ways people engage with the natural environment. This includes activities such as time spent in private and communal gardens, watching nature programmes on television and undertaking pro-environmental activities such as recycling.

National Statistics

The UK Statistics Authority has designated MENE as National Statistics, in accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007 and signifying compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

Pre-release access list

The pre-release access order 2008 restricts who can see official statistics before they’re published. The pre-release access list for MENE National Statistics accredited products was revised in May 2017 removing all pre-release access.

The pre-release access order 2008 restricts who can see official statistics before they’re published. The pre-release access list for MENE National Statistics accredited products was revised in May 2017 removing all pre-release access.

Survey method

Fieldwork started in March 2009 with around 800 respondents interviewed every week across England using an in-home interview format. Every year at least 45,000 interviews are undertaken.
See the MENE technical report for details of the survey methodology including questions, frequencies, weighting, and estimates of margins of error.

How the survey is used

Natural England and its partners use the findings of the MENE survey to:

• inform their work, and that of other interested parties, to link it more closely to need

• evaluate the impact and effectiveness of this work

• measure the impact of policy intervention

Review

• Natural England is working with Defra to review MENE, to ensure that the survey builds on what we have learnt so far and asks the right questions to help meet future evidence and policy needs. Regular review is a key requirement of the Code of Practice for Statistics and we welcome engagement with users to ensure MENE meets their needs. If you would like to contribute to this review please email MENE@naturalengland.org.uk

Previous surveys

Reports and data are available for:

• England leisure visits survey 2005
• GB leisure day visits survey 2002 to 2003

Further information

Contact the responsible officer, Rose O’Neill, by email: MENE@naturalengland.org.uk for queries about the:

• reuse of survey data
• commissioning of bespoke analysis
• possibility of adding questions to the survey programme

Additional information is available in the MENE web page on Natural England’s website archive.

Results, publications and data

Reports for the results of the MENE survey are available to view using the links at the bottom of this page.

MENE survey data

SPSS, .csv and Excel data files

The complete datasets and metadata from the first 9 years of survey fieldwork are available from Natural England’s publication catalogue. These files were updated in September 2018 and also include additional weights and guidance notes.

The MENE online cross-tabulation viewer provides access to survey data for the period 2009-2016. Using this tool, the survey data can be cross-tabulated to pre-analyse the data by the required weights.

MENE reports

The 2018 headline report includes results from the 2016-17 and 2017-18 survey years. Published alongside the headline reports, are a Technical Report providing full details of the survey methodology, sampling, grossing and weighting and estimates of confidence intervals, and summary data tables in Excel.

List of all approved certification bodies for organic food in the UK.

All foods sold as organic must originate from growers, processors and importers who are registered with an approved certification body and subject to regular inspection.

What is CHPQA

The CHP Quality Assurance programme (CHPQA) is a government initiative providing a practical, determinate method for assessing all types and sizes of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) schemes throughout the UK. CHP, the simultaneous generation of heat and power in a single process, provides one of the most cost-effective approaches for making carbon savings and plays a crucial role in the UK Climate Change programme.

CHPQA aims to monitor, assess and improve the quality of UK Combined Heat and Power.

While participation in the CHPQA programme is voluntary, the government is committed to increasing the UK’s CHP capacity because of the considerable environmental, economic and social benefits it can bring together with its contribution to security of supply. Successful CHPQA certification grants eligibility to a range of benefits, including Renewable Obligation Certificates, Renewable Heat Incentive, Carbon Price Floor (heat) relief, Climate Change Levy exemption (in respect of electricity directly supplied), Enhanced Capital Allowances and preferential Business Rates.

CHPQA, by assessing CHP schemes on the basis of their energy efficiency and environmental performance, ensures that the associated fiscal benefits are in line with environmental performance.

The programme is carried out on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), in consultation with the Scottish Executive, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and has been running since 2001.

The CHPQA Standard sets out definitions, criteria and methodologies for the operation of the programme. It should be read in conjunction with the supporting CHPQA Guidance Notes, which provide detailed information on how this Standard will be interpreted by government departments and agencies as well as guidance on compliance with this Standard.

Applying to CHPQA

The first step in the route to CHPQA certification is to register for the programme by completing Form F1.

Form F1 is a basic administration form used to record the address of a proposed or existing CHP scheme and the contact details of the RP with whom all resultant CHPQA correspondence will be made, and is the first form that needs to be completed.

This form must be signed by the RP prior to submitting. If the RP is responsible for more than one CHP scheme, only one F1 form needs to be submitted but a list of the relevant scheme addresses must be attached.

Following the receipt of Form F1, the CHPQA administrator will send the RP a unique reference number for the scheme(s) and a user name and password.

These are required to access the online electronic submission system. Note that CHPQA applications may also be submitted on paper if preferred, though the online system is much simpler.

Following receipt of reference number and login details for the electronic submission system, the next step in the submission procedure is, in part, dependant on the complexity of the scheme, is it a ‘simple’ or ‘complex’ scheme.

CHPQA Online Submission

CHPQA Guidance Notes

‘Simple’ Scheme Submission Forms

Then the shortened versions of the CHPQA forms can be used which simplifies the submission procedure. These are denoted by the letter ‘s’ following each form name e.g. F2(s), F3(s) and F4(s). There are 2 categories of simple schemes – existing and new– which are covered below.

Simple Schemes: Existing

If your scheme is already commissioned and running and you have sufficient operational data for at least one month, then you need to complete Form F2(s) and F4(s).

• Form F2(s) – this is used to provide details of the CHP scheme, such as installed equipment capacity, type, etc, and metering arrangements.
  Note: Form F2(s) only needs resubmitting if changes are made to the scheme.

• Form F4(s) – If your scheme has at least one month of operational data, this form is used to provide details of the scheme’s actual performance. You only need to submit the annual energy figures for:

  • Electricity generated
  • Fuel consumed
  • Heat utilised

Where the scheme is <500 kWe with no appropriate gas metering, the fuel input may be estimated based on power efficiency using the CHPQA ‘Unit List’ which can be found on the CHPQA website.

Note: Form F4(s) is resubmitted each year with scheme performance details for the previous calendar year enabling a new CHPQA certificate to be issued. If there are any significant changes to the scheme (e.g. boundaries, metering) a new Form F2(s), must also be resubmitted.

Simple Schemes: New

Form F3(s) is for self-assessment of schemes which are not yet operational enabling you to provide technical details and anticipated performance, based on design information prior to commissioning. It is not a requirement to complete a F2(s) at this stage.

It also allows you to request an energy efficiency certificate for the scheme that is used in claiming Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs). If a Certificate of Energy Efficiency is required you need to tick the box at the bottom of the declaration of the F3(s) form, provide a list of identified potential electricity customers and complete part 5.

Note: Form F3(s) is resubmitted each year enabling a new CHPQA certificate to be issued, where there is no change from the previous calendar year, this may be reflected by entering “as in F3(s) Self-Assessment for 20xx”.

The CHPQA certificate provided will be valid until the 31st December of the year of issue.

‘Complex’ Scheme Submission Forms

The sequence of forms is the same as for the ‘simple’ scheme submission, however more detail is required and thus the forms are longer. The descriptor ‘complex’ therefore covers all other schemes that are not ‘simple’:

Complex Schemes: Existing

If your scheme is commissioned and running and you have sufficient operational data, then Form F2 and F4 must be completed.

• Form F2 – this form is used to provide a description of the scheme. This requires a list of all installed equipment (prime movers, boilers, their capacity, type, age etc) and metering equipment that will be used to monitor the performance of the CHP scheme. You will also need to provide scheme schematics showing all the listed equipment and meters.

• Form F4 – If your scheme has at least one month of operational data, this form is used to provide details of actual performance. You need to submit the following monthly energy figures:

  • Electricity generated
  • Fuel consumed
  • Heat utilised

You will also need to submit more supporting documentation than for simple schemes. This may include additional calculations necessary for determining the overall efficiency (the “Quality Index”) of the scheme.
Note: Form F4 is resubmitted each year with scheme performance details for the previous calendar year enabling a new CHPQA certificate to be issued.

Complex Schemes: New

If your scheme is still at the design stages, under construction or you don’t yet have sufficient operational data, then you have to complete Form F3.

The procedures are otherwise the same as for new simple schemes outlined above. All CHPQA paper forms are available here.

CHPQA Certificates

You may use your CHPQA Certificate to support a claim for the benefits offered to Good Quality CHP.

To use CHPQA to claim Climate Change Levy (CCL) exemption on fuel inputs to and power outputs from, your CHP Scheme you must also have a Secretary of State (combined heat and power) exemption Certificate for your CHP Scheme. Confirmation that a SoS (CHP) exemption certificate is required is done by completing the appropriate section of the CHPQA F3 or F4 submission form.

To use CHPQA to claim Enhanced Capital Allowances (ECAs), you must have a Secretary of State Certificate of Energy Efficiency. This is requested for by completing the appropriate section of the CHPQA F3 submission form.

CHPQA Timescales

CHPQA is an annual certification process. Shortly after the end of each calendar year, it is necessary for the RP to:

• compile the CHP scheme energy data that was monitored over the previous year
• assess the scheme’s performance
• submit the resultant figures on the appropriate forms for validation to CHPQA

RPs wishing to renew their CHPQA Certificate are encouraged to submit the completed forms by the end of March, allowing the CHPQA Administrator time to validate their forms and issue a new certificate in good time for the SOS Certificate to be maintained by BEIS at the end of June deadline.

Whilst the Administrator will accept forms beyond March, there is a risk that this delay will result in this deadline being missed. This means entitlement to CCL exemption will be removed from the beginning of the calendar year up until the time a new SOS (CHP) exemption Certificate is issued.

Certification Timetable

Contact CHPQA

Case Studies

A series of selected CHP case studies are available here.

CHPQA Events

The CHPQA workshop and seminar 2018

In November 2018, the Combined Heat and Power Quality Assurance Programme is organising three identical workshops for registered CHPQA programme users. These workshop aims to help new and existing CHPQA Responsible Persons understand the online submission process and keep abreast of latest policy development in the CHP market.

These workshop consists of a morning and an afternoon session, separated by a lunch break for networking and discussion with the CHPQA experts. The morning session aims to provide an overview of the CHPQA principles, benefits and procedures while the afternoon session covers latest developments in the market.

Date	Venue
Wednesday 21 November 2018	Edinburgh University, Edinburgh
Tuesday 27 November 2018	Harwell, Oxford
Wednesday 28 November 2018	Harwell, Oxford

The events are free to attend; however places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis (with priority given to Registered Responsible Person).
Complete
CHPQA Event Registration Form
(MS Word Document, 91.5KB)

and return to the CHPQA Helpdesk without delay to ensure your place

The CHPQA workshop and seminar 2017

CHPQA completed three one day events for CHPQA Responsible Persons. Each event followed the same format with a workshop in the morning providing an overview of the principles, benefits and procedures of CHPQA with the submission process explained, using online submission system examples, covering the data required, and an update of latest developments with the online system. The afternoon session covered a seminar with presentations covering recent developments with the RHI and its impact on renewable CHP, other fiscal benefits for GQCHP, how these interact and key timescales that you need to be aware of.

The presentations delivered during the CHPQA workshop and seminar 2017 are available to download.

UK National Comprehensive Assessment stakeholder event

Following the publication of the UK’s National Comprehensive Assessment for high-efficiency CHP and efficient district heating and cooling, DECC held a stakeholder event on 15 April 2016 at which the final results were presented by Ricardo Energy & Environment who undertook the study. The presentations delivered during the event are available to download here