HSE has responded to construction union UCATT’s press release to media which claimed that there had been an increase in prosecution delays and fall in convictions following construction deaths https://www.ucatt.org.uk/increase-prosecution-delays-and-fall-convictions-following-construction-deaths.
HSE stated that there has been no fall in conviction rates for HSE prosecutions. It actually rose from 92% in 2010/11 to 94% in 2014/15. The reduction referred to in the UCATT statement relates to the numbers of fatalities in construction for which prosecutions have been approved. The percentage of fatalities leading to a decision to prosecute in the same year will be lower in more recent years as a number of the more complex investigations will still be on-going or are progressing through the courts. The number of prosecution approvals should also be seen against an overall reduction in construction fatalities from over 100 in 2000/01 to 39(p) in 2014/15. http://press.hse.gov.uk/2016/hse-responds-to-ucatt-release-on-construction-deaths/
. The Department for energy and climate change has published provisional date for 2015. A more detailed analysis will be published on 31 March.
Primary energy production rose by 9.0 per cent on a year earlier to 123.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent. This increase, the first since 1999, was due to rises in oil and gas output. Low carbon energy production rose by 13.8 per cent, with growth due to increased nuclear availability following outages towards the end of 2014, and boosted by strong growth from wind generation in 2015. Production of coal fell by 27 per cent, to a record low, due to mine closures and other mines producing less coal as they come to the end of operation.
Energy production in 2015 was marginally above output levels of 2012.
The European Chemical Agency has published new tools available to estimate environmental emissions of biocides. Easy-to-use calculation sheets are available for ten biocidal product-types to help estimate the release of substances from the products to the environment. These are for • disinfectants for human hygiene (pt 1), • disinfectants and algaecides not intended for direct application to humans or animals (pt 2), • food and feed area (pt 4), • drinking water (pt 5), • preservatives for fibre, leather, rubber and polymerised materials preservatives (for textiles) (pt 9), • pest control: Rodenticides (pt 14), • avicides (pt 15); Insecticides, acaricides and products to control other arthropods (for textiles) (pt 18), • repellents and attractants (pt 19) • other biocidal products for embalming and taxidermist fluids (pt 22). Sheets for other product-types will follow in the course of 2016.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has now published the full document (PDF, 5.54MB, 758 pages) of the summary of its provisional decision on remedies. This sets out the independent investigation group’s comprehensive package of 33 remedies, which it proposes to introduce following the conclusion of its investigation in June. The full text of the report, supported by 30 appendices which will also be published shortly, includes a detailed assessment of each remedy and the evidence gathered from all interested parties.